India Arrests US Man, 6 Ukrainians in Myanmar Drone Plot

Indian authorities have arrested American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke and six Ukrainian citizens on suspicion of conspiring to conduct terrorist activities, including training ethnic armed groups in Myanmar with drone technology and illegally crossing into the country from India's northeastern border. The detentions, carried out on March 13 at airports in Kolkata, Lucknow, and Delhi, highlight concerns over foreign nationals using India as a transit route for operations that could threaten national security.

VanDyke, 45, a Baltimore native with a background in security studies from Georgetown University, was apprehended at Kolkata's international airport. The six Ukrainians—identified as Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi—were detained in groups of three at Lucknow and Delhi airports. All seven entered India separately on tourist visas over recent weeks, converging in Guwahati before traveling to Mizoram without the required Restricted Area Permits. From there, officials allege, they crossed the porous border into Myanmar's Chin State to deliver prescheduled training sessions.