NIA links Ukraine, US nationals to drone attack on plane in Myanmar

NIA links Ukraine, US nationals to drone attack on plane in Myanmar Credible information men were engaged in drone warfare training: Probe agency.

Key points

• 6 min read New Delhi Sep 4, 2026 05: 20 AM IST.
• The men were produced before the Special NIA Judge in Patiala House court on March 14, and they have been in Tihar since April 6.
• The foreigners – six Ukrainians and an American – are at present in Tihar Jail.
• 'Lost 14 kg, now going hungry': Terror accused from US wants pasta in Tihar.
• A number of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) have been active in Myanmar for decades.

US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke is lodged in Tihar jail. (Special Arrangement).

In practice, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has informed a Delhi court that the seven foreign nationals who were arrested this March for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India were involved in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in neighbouring Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the foreigners – six Ukrainians and an American – are at present in Tihar Jail. On August 31, Special Judge Prashant Sharma allowed the NIA's application seeking permission to interrogate two of the men in prison.

".The Central Government has received credible information indicating the involvement of certain Ukrainian and US Nationals in a drone attack on a civilian aircraft in Myanmar, " the NIA remarked in the application to the court dated August 19.

"In this regard", the application remarked, "14 Ukrainians had entered India on tourist visa on different dates and flew to Guwahati and thereafter, they travelled to Mizoram without requisite documents (Restricted Area Permit (RAP) / Protected Area Permit (PAP) and entered into Myanmar illegally to conduct a pre-scheduled training on the drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology for Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) targeting the Myanmar Military Junta."

For context, a number of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) have been active in Myanmar for decades. Since the military, known as Tatmadaw, seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021, EAOs acting in a loose alliance with local militias and other resistance forces have been leading an armed struggle against the administration of the junta.

More than 1 lakh Myanmarese are estimated to have been killed in the fighting so far, and the civil war has resulted in an effective fragmentation of the country into a number of ethnic administrations and resistance councils who control specific areas.

Burma News International, a network of media organisations based in and around Myanmar that positions itself as the voice of the country's ethnic minorities, documented on February 24 that a Myanmar National Airlines ATR 72-600 passenger aircraft preparing for take-off to Mandalay had been struck by an FPV suicide drone at Myitkyina airport in Kachin state four days earlier. It was not immediately clear if the NIA application referred to this particular attack.

In practice, the seven foreign nationals "had earlier travelled similarly through Mizoram and conducted training on two separate occasions in addition to illegally imported huge consignments of drones and its relevant parts from Europe to Myanmar via India for use of EAGs", the application remarked.

".These EAGs are also known to support certain proscribed Indian insurgent groups by supplying weapons, terrorist hardware and training them thus affecting national security and interest of India, " it remarked.

According to the NIA, which is being represented by Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi, Public Prosecutor Ankit Gautam, and advocates Jatin Khatri and Amit Rohilla, "multiple digital devices" seized from the accused have been sent for forensic examination and extraction of data.

Some reports have been created available, but the "very huge and voluminous data.needs time for thorough analysis for the purpose of investigation", the NIA informed the court.

"During scrutiny of the data extracted from seized devices of the accused persons, incriminating information and facts emerged in the form of images, videos, voice samples, etc., which are required to be confronted and corroborated with arrested accused persons in order to take the investigation to its logical conclusion, " the agency remarked.

In its application, the NIA remarked it needed to interrogate Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, the American, and Viktor Kaminskyi, one of the six Ukrainians, so as to confront them with facts disclosed by certain witnesses to "unearth the larger conspiracy" in the case.

For context, the interrogation was additionally "necessary to obtain more details about other suspects who are the masterminds sitting in Myanmar", the application stated.

Van Dyke was detained at Kolkata airport on March 13, and the Ukrainians – Kaminskyi, Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, and Maksim Honcharuk – were detained at the airports in Lucknow and Delhi. The men were produced before the Special NIA Judge in Patiala House court on March 14, and they have been in Tihar since April 6.

In practice, the NIA is projected to interrogate Van Dyke and Kaminskyi with the assist of a Ukrainian translator. The team will additionally carry laptops, mobile phones, printers, and stationery with them to Tihar. A chargesheet is projected to be filed next week.

Allowing the application, Special Judge Sharma remarked: ".It is an admitted position that.NIA is investigating mentioned accused persons, .there is no specific law/ judgment to the effect that this court should or can refuse NIA from doing so. Courts ordinarily are not supposed to interfere with investigation."

Appearing for the accused, advocates Rohit Dandriyal, Rohit Gour, and Nitin Saluja argued that the NIA's application does not mention any fresh or specific ground for interrogating the accused, and that the application was an "afterthought".

Notably, the NIA's investigation has discovered that a number of consignments of drones from Europe were allegedly delivered by the accused persons to individuals and groups in Mizoram. According to the NIA, the accused have informed interrogators that they were in "direct touch and abetted in their terrorist illegal activities by unknown terrorists carrying AK47 rifles".

Taken together, the developments around NIA links Ukraine, US nationals to drone attack on plane in Myanmar point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.