'Charges orchestrated and politically motivated': Ukraine reacts to arrest of six of its nationals

Indian agencies are now focused on identifying those who may have assisted the American citizen, Mathew Aaron VanDyke, and the Ukrainian nationals (ANI video grab)

• Ukraine embassy: Arrests of six Ukrainians are politically motivated
• NIA arrests 6 Ukrainians, 1 American for suspected terror plot
• Ukraine asks India to ensure detainee rights and transparency

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Expressing serious concern over the arrest of six Ukrainians, the embassy of Ukraine in India said that circumstances leading to their arrest and charges pressed against these individuals appear 'orchestrated and politically motivated'.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested seven foreign nationals — six Ukrainian nationals and one from the United States — on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India The arrests, made in a coordinated operation by multiple NIA teams, were made under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with other relevant sections.

Agencies, reportedly are now focused on identifying those who may have assisted the American citizen, Mathew Aaron VanDyke, and the Ukrainian nationals in travelling to Mizoram and crossing into Myanmar. The group is suspected to have been making trips to Myanmar since 2024, allegedly supplying drones and jamming equipment and imparting training to ethnic groups.

As the six detained Ukrainians were reportedly part of a group of 14 people that had travelled to Myanmar, the officials cited above said that authorities are currently trying to ascertain if the other eight are still in Myanmar or have left via India.

"Ukraine firmly rejects any insinuations regarding the possible involvement of the Ukrainian State in supporting terrorist activities. Ukraine is a state that faces the consequences of Russian terror on a daily basis and, for this very reason, takes a principled and uncompromising stance in combating terrorism in all its forms," read a statement by the Embassy of Ukraine in Delhi.

"In this context, we express our principled readiness for active cooperation between the competent authorities of Ukraine and their Indian counterparts, in particular on the basis of the existing bilateral Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which provides for the broadest possible measures of mutual legal assistance and interaction through the central authorities of the parties," added the embassy.

Emphasizing on the friendly ties between the two nations, Kyiv said: "Ukraine expects that, taking into account the traditionally friendly and trusting nature of relations between Ukraine and India, the competent authorities of India will ensure the legality, transparency, and openness of the process, as well as the proper observance of the rights of the detained Ukrainian citizens, in accordance with the norms and principles of international law."