INDIA ARREST 7 UKRAINIANS & AN AMERICAN MERCENARY IN DEHLI

Written by Michael Thervil

INDIA ARREST 7 UKRAINIANS & AN AMERICAN MERCENARY IN DEHLI | AMERICAN MATTHEW AARON VANDYKE | PHOTO BY UPI

[India Ukraine American mercenaries arrested] Yesterday, India's NIA (National Investigation Agency) which is an anti-terrorism agency that arrested and detained a group of seven mercenaries that was composed of six Ukrainians and one American. Three of the Ukrainians that were arrested were arrested at an airport in Delhi with the other three being arrested in Lucknow, an airport located in the northern part of the city. The American who was a former US serviceman that was involved was arrested at an airport in Kolkata. It should be noted that this is not the first time American Matthew Arron VanDyke has been caught in operating in this capacity. Officials from the NIA stated that the suspects had “the intention of carrying out a pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs)”. According to sources, the names of the suspects are as follows:

• Matthew Aaron VanDyke (US citizen)

• Petro Hurba (Ukrainian citizen)

• Taras Slyviak (Ukrainian citizen)

• Ivan Sukmanovskyi (Ukrainian citizen)

• Marian Stefankiv (Ukrainian citizen)

• Maksim Honcharuk (Ukrainian citizen)

• Viktor Kaminskyi (Ukrainian citizen)

These seven individuals were caught engaging in acts of terrorism in the northern border of India. All the suspects were found to have illegally entered the state of Mizoram and the south Asian state of Myanmar (Burma). It was also discovered that the suspects had shipped an unknown high number of drones to militants in Mizoram. It should be noted that there were other Ukrainian nationals that participated in this illegal activity but that have not been apprehended as they evaded capture by the NIA by entering Guwahati, India at a much earlier date and time.

According to Indian authorities, this isn’t the only time mercenaries have utilized India as an entry point into Myanmar. It was reported by the chief minister of Mizoram that "thousands" of mercenaries of western origin have essentially slipped through India to train militants in Myanmar by exploiting Myanmar's push to market Myanmar as a major tourist destination. The 1,020-mile (1,643km) border between India and Myanmar was found to be lacking in physical controls such as fences or walls due to the significant degree of overly thick shrubbery that has overtaken the border.

Upon hearing of the arrest of Ukrainian citizens, The Ukrainian government has formally demanded that the Ukrainians held in custody be released based on the grounds that the Indian government has no “established facts proving the involvement of the said Ukrainian citizens in unlawful activities on the territory of India or Myanmar”. The Ukrainian Embassy in Delhi stated that they were not made aware of the Ukrainian nationals that were arrested and detained and that the citizens of Ukraine should have had the opportunity to consult with their embassy regarding the matter.