New Delhi: The Ukrainian Embassy here Thursday expressed its “serious concern” that the investigation into six of its nationals arrested and charged under India’s anti-terror legislations is “possibly orchestrated” and “politically motivated”. It cited media reports linking Russian intelligence inputs with the arrests to support its claim.
Kyiv’s diplomatic mission, however, reiterated that it is willing to cooperate with Indian authorities, highlighting the joint statement signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August 2024 of working together to combat terrorism.
“Taking into account publicly available information in the case concerning the detention of six citizens of Ukraine, including media reports indicating that the initiation of this proceeding was prompted by information provided by the Russian side, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India expresses serious concern regarding the presence of circumstances that point to a possible orchestrated and politically motivated nature of this case, as evidenced, in particular, by the facts known at this stage,” the Embassy said in its statement.
The statement added: “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.”
The diplomatic mission added that any allegations of terrorist activities must be “considered exclusively” based on available facts, “transparent procedures and full intergovernmental cooperation.”
This is the second statement emanating from the Eastern European nation after six of its nationals were arrested by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 13 March. The Ukrainian Embassy has yet to receive consular access to its citizens in custody of the NIA as demanded in a separate statement earlier this week, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to ThePrint.
One American citizen was also arrested by the NIA as a part of the same plot. All seven foreign nationals have been charged under India’s tough Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), in particular under Section 18 of the law, which includes charges of conspiracy to commit or facilitate terrorist acts.
The NIA told a court in New Delhi Monday that the seven foreign nationals entered Mizoram without the required permits and then allegedly travelled to Myanmar illegally to train ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) that are known to support terrorist organisations operating in India.
The seven nationals allegedly imparted a training regimen focussed on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) warfare, assembly of such platforms and jamming technologies, the NIA told the court, as reported by ThePrint.
Matthew Aaron VanDyke is the lone American citizen picked up by India’s investigative agency. The six Ukrainian nationals have been identified as Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor.
The seven foreigners have been further remanded in the custody of the NIA for 11 days till 27 March.
Ukraine had earlier hit out at the arrest of its citizens, calling for “unimpeded” consular access” and lodged a formal protest with New Delhi.
“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,” the latest statement issued by the Ukrainian embassy said.
The statement added: “We also emphasize that 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.”
Kyiv’s irritation is also over the fact that the investigation into the activities of six of its nationals has been spun by certain media outlets, particularly those from Russia alleging that the actions are part of a larger plot by Ukrainian administration against Indian interests.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)