Fake alert: Govt denies social media posts on Ukrainians in NE
The government has termed as “fake” claims that 3,000 Ukrainians are hiding in the Northeast to train insurgents. It clarified that seven foreign nationals were arrested in a separate NIA case involving illegal entry and alleged militant links
New Delhi: The government on Friday debunked social media claims that 3,000 Ukrainians have entered India and are hiding in the northeast to train insurgent groups, calling these posts “Fake”.
“Some social media posts are claiming that over 3,000 Ukrainians have entered India and are hiding in the North-East to train insurgent groups, allegedly backed by US mercenaries and supplying cheap drones to terrorists,” the government said in a statement.
It said these claims are “Fake”.
The statement said “7 individuals (6 Ukrainians and 1 American) have been arrested by the NIA for illegal entry into Myanmar via Mizoram. Immigration and security agencies remain fully alert, and the investigation is ongoing”.
The seven arrested persons include Matthew Aaron VanDyke, a US citizen and an international security analyst who was detained at the Kolkata airport. He is the founder of the “Sons of Liberty International (SOLI)” and a self-described veteran of the “Libyan Revolution”.
Six Ukrainian nationals, identified as Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim and Kaminskyi Viktor, were first detained from the Delhi and Lucknow airports.
All of them have been charged with engaging in unlawful activities for helping armed militia in Myanmar, which work closely with anti-India insurgent groups, officials said.
The arrests were made on a specific tip-off last week.
The Bureau of Immigration detained the seven persons while they were attempting to move through major Indian transit hubs. They were later arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
According to an FIR filed by the NIA, 14 Ukrainians entered India on tourist visa on separate dates and flew to Guwahati in Assam and then to Mizoram without the requisite Restricted Area Permit (RAP) or the Protected Area Permit (PAP).
The group then entered Myanmar “illegally” to conduct a pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based Ethnics Armed Groups (EAGs), known to support terrorist organisations operating in India, in the domain of drone warfare and jamming technology, the FIR said.
“These EAGs are also known to be supporting some proscribed Indian insurgent groups by way of supplying weapons and other terrorist hardware and training them, thus affecting national security and interest of India,” the FIR added.
The arrested persons were produced before a court here on March 16, which sent them to the NIA’s custody for 11 days.