LUCKNOW: Three Ukrainian nationals, identified as war veterans by intelligence agencies, were taken into custody by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) officials at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and handed over to the National Investigation Agency last week.The arrests were made on March 13. They were identified as Petro Hurba, 36, Taras Slyviak, 37, and Ivan Sukmanovskyi, 34. They have been booked under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) among other sections of the Act. According to an intelligence source, the arrested Ukrainians went to Myanmar to train insurgent groups in flying military drones.The arrests are part of a wider operation in which the NIA has taken seven foreign nationals — six Ukrainians and one American — into custody for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India.According to investigators, the group of seven was led by US national Mathew Aron Van Dyke, who was detained by the BoI at Kolkata airport, while other three Ukrainian nationals — Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor — were held at Delhi airport.Investigators said the three Ukrainians held in Lucknow had arrived in India from the UAE on Dec 18, 2025. They later travelled through Mizoram and allegedly crossed into Myanmar’s Chin State. In the early hours of March 11, they checked into a hotel near the Lucknow airport.The hotel owner told TOI that the trio checked in around 2am after making an online booking and informing us about their early arrival. “Petro Hurba spoke English and claimed to be a chef. They described themselves as tourists travelling across India,” said the hotel owner.The hotel owner said the guests avoided answering questions about their previous location, only stating that they had come from the Northeast and had earlier visited Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, where they stayed at an ashram. “During their stay, the trio visited a shopping mall for non-vegetarian food and were seen watching a local wedding from the hotel rooftop,” added the owner.Intelligence source said, “The timely submission of Form C by the hotel owner played a crucial role in tracking the suspects. Form C is a mandatory online document under the Foreigners Act requiring hotels and hosts to report the stay of foreign nationals within 24 hours.”Source added that the three Ukrainians travelled by a sleeper bus from Guwahati to Lucknow and were attempting to fly to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday evening when they were arrested following intelligence inputs.A source said the accused had entered India on valid tourist visas but subsequently travelled to Mizoram without obtaining the mandatory restricted area permit.As per Mathew Aron Van Dyke X account, he is a founder of Sons of Liberty International, a company that provides security consulting and training services. Dyke claimed he fought in Libya and Ukraine, and ran covert operations in Venezuela and is against the current Iranian regime. His official website declares him as an award-winning filmmaker.Mizoram CM Lalduhoma had told the state assembly that his govt had intelligence inputs that the Ukraine war veterans had travelled to Myanmar’s Chin State via Mizoram to train rebel outfits fighting the military junta.Taras Slyviak, 37, and Ivan Sukmanovskyi, 34. They have been booked under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) among other sections of the Act. According to an intelligence source, the arrested Ukrainians went to Myanmar to train insurgent groups in flying military drones.bel outfits fighting the military junta.
