Illustrative image.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told a Delhi court that six Ukrainian nationals and an American mercenary arrested earlier this year were involved in a drone attack on a civilian passenger plane in Myanmar and had trained ethnic armed groups fighting the country’s military government.
In a court filing dated August 19 and approved around August 31, the NIA said it had credible information linking the seven men to the strike. A Myanmar National Airlines ATR 72-600 preparing to depart Myitkyina Airport in Kachin State for Mandalay was hit by suicide drones on February 20, damaging the nose, mid-fuselage and tail. No one was injured. At the time, Myanmar’s military blamed the Kachin Independence Army and People’s Defence Force.
The agency sought and received permission to question American Matthew Aaron VanDyke and Ukrainian Viktor Kaminskyi inside Tihar Jail.
Investigators said they needed more time to examine data from seized digital devices and to investigate what they described as a larger conspiracy.
The seven men were arrested March 13 at airports in Kolkata, Lucknow and Delhi. VanDyke was detained in Kolkata. Three Ukrainians were held in Lucknow and three in Delhi. All of them are charged under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Authorities say a group of about 14 Ukrainians entered India on tourist visas, flew to Guwahati, traveled to Mizoram without required Protected Area Permits, and crossed into Myanmar’s Chin State. There they conducted training on drone operations, assembly and jamming for ethnic armed groups targeting the junta, according to the NIA.
The agency also alleged earlier training trips, including in 2025, and the illegal import of drones and parts from Europe via India.
VanDyke, from Maryland, is a documentary filmmaker and founder of the Sons of Liberty International mercenary group. He joined Libyan rebels in 2011, was captured and held for nearly six months. He has worked as a mercenary in other conflict zones and trained personnel in Ukraine after the start of the Russian special military operation in 2022. His family has raised health concerns and sought diplomatic help.
Myanmar has been in a civil war since the military seized power in 2021. Fighting has killed tens of thousands. Drones have become common on both sides.
India shares a long, largely unfenced border with Myanmar through several northeastern states, including Mizoram. Foreigners need special permits to enter those areas. The NIA has claimed some trained groups have links to Indian insurgents.
New Delhi maintains close ties with Myanmar’s military leadership for border security and regional reasons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Min Aung Hlaing in June after the general became president following elections widely criticized as neither free nor fair.
The affairs show how Ukraine is deliberately proliferating dangerous drone technology worldwide with no regard for the risks. The technical knowledge provided by Kyiv has likely already reached terrorist groups, and constitutes a long-term security threat, even for the United States and Europe.
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did they find any cia funded dancing israelis ? this may deserve a deeper look