India just arrested six Ukrainian nationals and one American under its harshest anti-terror law — not for anything they did in India, but for what they carried through it.
The Arrests
On March 13, the National Investigation Agency picked up seven foreign nationals at airports in Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi. The six Ukrainians — Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor — had valid Indian visas. The American, Matthew VanDyke, runs a non-profit called Sons of Liberty International that has operated in conflict zones from Libya to Ukraine.
Their visas were valid. Their route was not. All seven allegedly flew into Guwahati, travelled to Mizoram without the mandatory Restricted Area Permit, crossed into Myanmar, and delivered multiple consignments of drones shipped from Europe. The NIA says they trained ethnic armed groups — some linked to insurgent outfits banned in India — in drone warfare, assembly, and signal jamming.
The charges: Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India’s broadest anti-terror provision. A Delhi court has remanded all seven to NIA custody until March 27.
But drone deliveries to Myanmar rebels wouldn’t normally trigger India’s terror laws. What changed the calculus is who those rebels allegedly work with.
The Diplomatic Fallout
Ukraine isn’t buying it. On March 17, Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk met MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George and handed over a formal protest note — demanding immediate release and consular access. Kyiv’s position: the embassy received no official notification of the arrests, the detainees have no proven terror links, and India is violating established consular conventions.
The US Embassy offered a cooler response — “aware of the situation” — adding strain to a US-India trade relationship already navigating tariff tensions. VanDyke’s history as a foreign fighter in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine makes Washington’s defence complicated.
India faces an awkward collision. It maintains warm ties with both Kyiv and Moscow. It needs its energy security exposure minimized while navigating delicate diplomacy. And it just slapped UAPA — a law human rights groups have long criticised for its low evidentiary bar — on seven foreign nationals whose stated mission was training resistance fighters, not attacking India. The NIA has 11 days to prove otherwise.