Received consular access plea for an American and six Ukrainian nationals: MEA

Three days after six Ukrainian nationals and a U.S. citizen were produced in court by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for working with ethnic armed organisations inside Myanmar’s Chin State bordering Mizoram, officials here confirmed that they have received a request for “consular access” for the Ukrainian nationals from the Embassy of Ukraine. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday (March 19, 2026) that the six Ukrainians and an American were found to be “wanting” of the required permits for visiting Mizoram.

“Relevant agencies of the Government of India are investigating the case presently. Yes. We have received consular access request and this will be addressed keeping in mind the legal requirements that are involved in this particular case,” said Mr. Jaiswal. The official remarks from the Indian side came soon after the Embassy of Ukraine expressed “serious concern” over the arrest raising questions over the reports that the arrests were “prompted by information provided by the Russian side”. “Ukraine firmly rejects any insinuations regarding the possible involvement of the Ukrainian state in supporting terrorist activities,” said the Embassy of Ukraine in a statement underscoring the need for “verified facts, transparent procedures, and full intergovernmental cooperation.”

The Hindu had reported that the U.S. national picked up by the NIA along with the Ukrainians on the charge of illegally crossing over to Myanmar via Mizoram to train ethnic armed organisations in weapons handling and drone warfare methods was under observation for the past several months.

The accused persons have been identified as U.S. national Mathew Aaron Van Dyke; and Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Victor from Ukraine. The NIA is probing the digital footprints of the individuals and trying to find out if the group included other members as well. Three of the six Ukrainians named by the NIA were picked up at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the other three were held at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow on March 13 and Mr. Vand Dyke was picked up on the same night at the Kolkata airport.

‘Restricted areas’

Mr. Jaiswal affirmed that there are “restricted and protected areas in India” that require “permission to travel”. “I understand that they may be wanting of certain documents for travelling to that part of India,” the MEA spokesperson said, explaining that the arrested individuals did not possess the Protected Area Permit that was necessary.

Earlier, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson had said that the U.S. was “aware of the situation”, declining to reveal more as it involved privacy concerns of a U.S. citizen. Officials further said that “due process of law will be followed” regarding the case.

Myanmar has dozens of ethnic armed organisations involved in resistance against the military junta that just organised an election during December 2025-January 2026. However, the election was not accepted by the armed groups which are claiming greater political and civil rights. Several armed groups are active in the Chin State that borders India’s Mizoram that the arrested individuals had visited.