Overview
- India’s NIA arrested U.S. citizen Matthew Aaron VanDyke and six Ukrainians on March 13 at airports in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata, with a Delhi court remanding them to custody until March 27 under terrorism-related provisions.
- The agency alleges the group entered Mizoram without required permits, crossed illegally into Myanmar, trained ethnic armed groups in drone warfare and routed drone consignments via India.
- Multiple outlets report Russian intelligence provided the tip that triggered the probe, prompting Ukraine to call the case possibly orchestrated and demand a transparent investigation.
- India’s foreign ministry says it has received Ukraine’s request for consular access and will address it per legal requirements, while the U.S. embassy acknowledges awareness but withholds comment citing privacy.
- Investigators have sent seized phones for forensic extraction and are mapping networks and funding, with officials tracing up to eight more suspects from a reported larger group of 14 and the government debunking viral claims of thousands of Ukrainians entering India.