Ukraine protests arrest of 6 nationals; seeks consular access, release

Following an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) the same day, a Patiala House court in Delhi on Monday granted the agency custody of the accused until March 27.

In its statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that “the charges concern unauthorised presence in the state of Mizoram, access to which requires a special permit, as well as the alleged illegal crossing of the state border between India and Myanmar”.

Kyiv’s statement made no reference to allegations of “carrying out terrorist acts against India”. The accused Ukrainians have, however, been booked under Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), among other provisions.

According to documents submitted by the NIA in court, the six Ukrainians have been identified as Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor. The American national has been identified as Matthew Aaron Van Dyke.

Stating that “the details of the case are not being disclosed in the interests of the investigation”, the Ukrainian statement said: “With the assistance of Ukrainian consular officers of the Embassy of Ukraine in India, the citizens have been provided with legal aid and defence counsel during the court proceedings.”

It added that Monday’s court hearing “was also attended by representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India; however, they were not granted the opportunity to communicate directly with the detainees”.

According to the statement, the Government also did not officially inform the embassy of their detention, which was “contrary to established international practice”.

“We draw attention to the fact that there are certain restricted-access zones in India for foreign nationals, entry to which is possible only with special permits. At the same time, proper marking of such areas on the ground is often absent, which creates a risk of unintentional violation of the established rules,” it said.

The statement also alleged a Russian misinformation campaign, accusing “certain publications, including in some Indian and Russian media outlets” of “distorted interpretations of the available facts” and “unfounded allegations”.

Responding to queries regarding the detained American citizen, a spokesperson for the US Embassy said, “We are aware of the situation. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on cases involving US citizens.”

Government sources said, “This is a legal matter and relevant authorities are pursuing it. We are looking into the request for consular access as per established norms and guidelines.”

This is the first instance of Ukrainian nationals being arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist activities in India. In the past, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Chinese nationals have been apprehended for similar activities.

Officials in Delhi are concerned about the scale of activities allegedly carried out by the group and are seeking to uncover the “full conspiracy”. India is expected to raise with Kyiv the alleged illegality and gravity of the actions, based on initial findings.