India's National Investigation Agency arrested six Ukrainian nationals and one American citizen last week on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities, alleging the group smuggled drones from Europe into Myanmar through Indian territory to arm ethnic rebel groups. Ukrainian diplomats who attended a March 16 court hearing were denied direct access to the detainees.
The arrests, conducted in coordinated NIA operations at airports in Delhi, Lucknow, and Kolkata, were made under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The US national was detained by the Bureau of Immigration at Kolkata airport; three Ukrainians were detained in Lucknow and three in Delhi, according to the Indian Express.
According to NIA, the suspects entered India on valid visas but traveled to Mizoram — a northeastern state bordering Myanmar that requires a special Restricted Area Permit — without obtaining one. "From there, they crossed into Myanmar, where they reportedly met ethnic groups hostile to India," an NIA source told Indian Express. "Investigations also uncovered that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by them in Mizoram."
The agency alleges the group was involved in illegally "importing huge consignments of drones from Europe to Myanmar via India" for use by "ethnic armed groups" that were also allegedly "supporting some proscribed Indian Insurgent Groups by way of supplying weapons and other terrorist hardware and training them."
Produced before a duty magistrate on Saturday, the suspects were initially remanded for three days, then until March 27 following a second hearing. Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court wrote in his order that "the aspects of collection of evidence, unearthing criminal conspiracy, identification of co-accused persons and analysis of mobile data of accused persons, are such that police custody of accused persons is justified."
NIA prosecutors told the court they sought custody to "collect more evidence to unearth the overall conspiracy of the present case hatched by the accused persons and their accomplices," and to "unearth the route opted" by the group. They also said they wanted to "apprehend the close unknown associates still at large who are likely to surface after technical analysis of the social media accounts" and to determine the alleged source of funding through mobile data analysis.
Ukraine pushes back
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on India to release the six citizens and provide consular access, Radio Free Europe reported. Kyiv acknowledged the charges but disputed them: "As of now, there are no proven facts confirming the involvement of the said Ukrainian citizens in any unlawful activities on the territory of India or Myanmar," the ministry said in a statement, adding that certain Indian and Russian media coverage contained "distorted interpretations" that were "manipulative in nature and put forward groundless accusations."
The ministry said it was withholding further details in the interest of the investigation, and confirmed that lawyers had been provided to the detainees.
What drew a sharper protest was the handling of diplomatic access. Embassy staff attended the March 16 hearing but, according to the Foreign Ministry, were not permitted to speak directly with the detained citizens. Ukraine's Ambassador to India subsequently met with India's Deputy Foreign Minister Siby George and delivered a formal note of protest demanding "immediate release" and consular access. "Contrary to established international practice, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India has not received official notification from the competent authorities of India regarding the detention of Ukrainian citizens," the ministry said.
The Myanmar backdrop
Myanmar has been in civil war since the military coup of February 2021, when the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi following elections the military claimed were fraudulent. Ethnic armed groups opposing the junta began attacking military forces that same year, and fighting has since escalated to include armored vehicles and strike drones. Last year, rebels began targeting junta helicopters using FPV drones.
The junta has sought military support from Russia; in 2023, artillery ammunition of Myanmar manufacture was reportedly spotted in use by Russian forces. India, which shares a border with Myanmar in its northeastern states including Mizoram, has a longstanding concern about weapons flows and insurgent activity in the region.
