India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested US national Matthew Aaron VanDyke and six Ukrainians—Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk, Viktor Kaminskyi—on March 13, 2026, at Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi airports following a Russian intelligence tip-off.
Alleged Activities
The group entered Mizoram without permission, crossed into Myanmar to train ethnic armed groups and insurgents linked to banned Indian outfits using drones and weapons. Charged under UAPA for terror conspiracy; remanded 11 days till March 27.
VanDyke’s Background
The 42-year-old American, founder of Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), fought as mercenary in Libya (2011), Syria, Iraq against ISIS, Philippines, and trained Ukrainians since 2022 Russia invasion. Known as documentary filmmaker and security analyst.
Responses
US Embassy aware, monitoring; Ukraine Embassy notes arrests. NIA probes Russia-Ukraine conflict spillover to India-Myanmar border instability.
