7 foreign nationals arrested by NIA | Possibly orchestrated: Ukraine on terror plot charge; India says legal processes being followed

In a statement on Thursday, the Ukrainian Embassy said: “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.”

It also emphasised the shared principled position of New Delhi and Kyiv on combating terrorism, which was outlined in the joint statement during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine in 2024.

“In the Joint Statement following the visit of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Ukraine on 23 August 2024, the leaders of the two states strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, emphasised that there can be no justification for terrorism, and underlined the need for international cooperation in combating it in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the statement said.

Proceeding from this shared position, Ukraine maintains that any allegation related to terrorism must be considered exclusively on the basis of verified facts, transparent procedures and full intergovernmental cooperation, it said, stressing on “ensuring objectivity, transparency and impartiality in the investigation of this case”.

Kyiv also expressed its readiness for cooperation between the competent authorities of Ukraine and their Indian counterparts, on the basis of the existing bilateral Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

“Ukraine has no interest in any activity that could pose a threat to the security of India. On the contrary, Ukraine consistently advocates for strengthening security, trust, and cooperation with India as an influential and friendly state. Instead, it is Russia, as an aggressor state, that seeks under every circumstance to drive a wedge between friendly countries — Ukraine and India,” it said.

Any attempt to use this case to discredit Ukraine or to introduce distrust into Ukraine-India relations appears to be a deliberate effort to harm bilateral partnership, it said, alluding to reports that Russia had provided intelligence to the Indian authorities.

The Ukrainian nationals were arrested on March 13 by the NIA on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India (along with an American national). Days later, Ukraine had lodged an official protest with the MEA, demanding the immediate release of the Ukrainian citizens and access to them.

The seven persons arrested by the NIA have been identified as US citizen Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainians — Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor.

The Ukraine foreign office had said there are no established facts proving the involvement of the said Ukrainian citizens in unlawful activities on the territory of India or Myanmar.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to India Oleksandr Polishchuk held a meeting with MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George, during which he handed over an official note of protest demanding the immediate release of the Ukrainian citizens and access to them. In addition, the Embassy is maintaining contact with other competent authorities in India in order to clarify all the circumstances and reasons for the detention, the Ukrainian foreign office said.

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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