On March 13, 2026, observing that a criminal conspiracy was hatched in secrecy, a Special NIA Court at Patiala House Court had remanded seven foreigner nationals – six Ukrainian military trainers and one American – to 11-day custody of the NIA. They were arrested from Delhi, Lucknow, and Kolkata and later produced before the NIA Court. In this major anti-terror probe linked to militant activity in Myanmar, it had come to be known that they entered India legally on tourist visas and then, via Guwahati, they illegally landed in Mizoram, which is a Protected Area. Thereafter, they crossed over into Myanmar through specific transit corridors along the border. In Myanmar, they came in contact with ethnic militias like the Chin and Arakan armies that have been waging a civil war since 2021 against the Tatmadaw, backed by China.

Just a few days after this terror plot was busted by the NIA, a 58-year-old Slovak national was detained on March 24 by Assam Rifles personnel while he was attempting to cross the Mizoram-Myanmar border to meet a friend. The man, a resident of Thailand, was accused of trying to cross over the border without the mandatory Protected Area Permit (PAP).[1] He had flown by air from Bangkok to Kolkata and then travelled further via road from Guwahati to Lungpuk village in Southern Aizawl as suggested by his friend, a Myanmarese national from Ramree Island in Rakhine State, whom he claimed to have met at a resort in Thailand where he earlier worked as a hotel manager. He was intercepted at Mizoram’s Laki village, roughly 60-75 km from Saiha, and handed over to Saiha Police.

This is indeed a watershed moment for India’s internal security, representing a worrying trend for a variety of reasons. For the first time, we have concrete evidence of high-level foreign combatants – specifically from Western conflict zones using Indian soil as a tactical launch pad via a sophisticated network bypassing legal protocols. As several states of the North-East are protected places where foreigners need special permission to enter, foreign mercenaries are increasingly using Assam as a transit route for proceeding to Myanmar, to further train the rebel armies. The Protected Area Permit (PAP) Regime governs the entry of foreign nationals into certain sensitive regions of the country. Till the 1990s, almost all states of the North-Eastern region, including Assam, were Protected Areas.

With the gradual improvement of the law-and-order situation, relaxations in the PAP Regime were introduced in 2018 for the North-Eastern states bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, with only Arunachal Pradesh remaining a protected area because of its proximity to China. The relaxed PAP rules were initially intended to remain in effect till 2027. However, in June 2024, a British national named Daniel Newey was caught with ammunition in his bag at Aizawl’s Lengpui Airport.[2] Further interrogation of the person had revealed that foreign mercenaries were visiting conflict-affected areas in Myanmar via the North-East. Immediately, the Ministry of Home Affairs reinforced stricter PAP requirements. Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland were declared as Protected Areas.[3]

The arrest of the six Ukrainians and one American in March 2026 had yet again revealed that foreign mercenaries are still visiting Myanmar through India. To avoid detection, they did not go to Mizoram directly by flight. Instead, they landed in Guwahati’s Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, as foreigners do not require special permission to visit Assam. From Guwahati, the arrested persons went to Mizoram by car and then crossed over to Myanmar through the porous international border. This means they bypassed formal entry points, including the Lengpui Airport, and instead entered Mizoram through neighbouring Assam, possibly via the Vairengte sector along the inter-state border in the Barak Valley.

The foreigners were arrested for violating the law by entering a Protected Area like Mizoram without valid permission and then crossing into Myanmar illegally. The entire incident not only reflected the vulnerability of our borders but also the need for stricter enforcement of travel regulations governing the entry of foreign nationals into the state. Deliberate use of Indian territory either for logistics and recruitment, or even testing ground proximity, that directly threatens India’s national security, cannot be allowed. The matter isn’t merely about visa violation; it is more about the threat of mercenary warfare looming large over the North-East. For quite some time, foreign powers were helping out the rebel forces of Myanmar, but not many were aware of the fact that they were using the territory of India to cross over into Myanmar.

Americans have been sighted in the border areas of Mizoram and Manipur for a long time, in what can be termed as a well-planned and well-thought-out conspiracy of a bigger anti-India nexus to destabilise the North-East. Earlier in 2024, officials in Mizoram had flagged concerns of a sudden spike in “unusual” Western visitors despite little visible tourism. Intelligence reports suggested some Western mercenaries involved in the Ukraine conflict might have crossed into Myanmar between late 2024 and early 2026, using the region as a transit route to train rebel groups. This was further confirmed by Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma during his address at the State Assembly on March 11, 2025, mentioning that more than 2,000 Ukrainian war veterans had travelled to Myanmar’s Chin State via Mizoram to train rebel outfits fighting the Military Junta.[4]

One of the Western support networks that aids anti-Government factions in Myanmar is the Free Burma Rangers, led by a former US Special Forces member. Media reports (including Al Jazeera) have documented individual Western veterans joining or advising rebel units in Myanmar.[5] In fact, rebel groups themselves have publicly claimed the presence of foreign mercenaries on the ground, some embedded with local militias like the armed wing of the opposition – People’s Defence Force (PDF). A newer group called the Anti-Fascist Internationalist Front (AIF), formed in 2024, comprises foreign fighters who are known to have arrived to openly fight and train rebels, particularly in the Chin State. AIF members claim prior combat experience in other conflict zones (like Syria) and have even released combat footage and drone strike videos from Myanmar.[6]

It raises pressing concerns of possible coordinated cross-border activities. Another secessionist group called the People’s Defence Force Zoland (PDF Zoland) confirmed on social media that it was hosting foreign fighters from the USA and UK.[7] According to NIA court submissions, the foreigners remanded by the NIA were engaged in providing arms and weapons training to different US-backed ethnic war groups in Myanmar. It was during questioning that they admitted to visiting Myanmar for training these groups that have a long history of working closely with several proscribed insurgent outfits of the North-East, posing a serious threat to India’s sovereignty and integrity. What they were doing in Myanmar might not be of immediate concern for India, but the fact that these foreigners are using the North-East as a transit route to visit Myanmar is all the more concerning.

Moreover, the civil war in Myanmar has turned into a fertile testing ground for not only standard combat techniques but also low-cost, affordable, and improvised air power, including drone operations and other cheap military innovations of explosives and ammunition that have consequences galore. Therefore, low-intensity drone technology and low-cost drone warfare are certainly not new to the North-East. It was alleged that the foreigners had smuggled multiple consignments of drones, ammunition, and jamming equipment from Europe through Indian territory. Reports suggest they could have possibly trained cadres of the Kachin Independent Army (KIA) on drone warfare. Their expertise in drone technology and precision weapons poses the danger of drastically altering the security scenario of the entire North-East.

Already, there are several reports of Myanmar-based armed groups, such as the Chin Defence Force and PDF, increasingly using FPV and commercial drones for precision strikes. It signals that our porous borders are being used as a playground by international “free agents” or non-state actors, complicating India’s Act-East Policy and our delicate relationship with the Tatmadaw. Noteworthy of mentioning here is that one of the accused, Matthew Aaron VanDyke, is a high-profile American ‘freedom fighter’ and a CIA mercenary (his X posts attached below), thereby exposing American covert operations in North-East India. This appears to be a well-coordinated operation led by non-state actors and backed by the American deep state, aimed at training anti-India ethnic groups by using drones and weaponry along the Myanmar border.

(Picture Credits: Vladimir Adityanath)

It becomes clear from the above posts of Matthew VanDyke that he and his team were hatching a dangerous conspiracy on our North-Eastern borders. So was this an effort to try and spoil the peace to create unrest and breed insurgency across the North-East once again? It is undoubtedly a global conspiracy that directly threatens India’s national security. What becomes vulnerable for India are key installations, including public places and military commanding units and army camps, particularly the Indian Army’s surveillance drones and other logistical assets. It directly upgrades the area threat, and the establishment of an integrated defence system becomes dearer for the Indian Government. Security agencies are worried about the countermeasures they must mount against threats in the near future.

Matthew VanDyke proclaims himself to be an international security expert and documentary filmmaker. After graduating from Georgetown University with a Master's in Security Studies, he set off on his motorcycle to Africa and the Middle-East during the period 2007-2010. He first established contacts in the Libyan city of Benghazi, which served as the focal point for the February 2011 anti-Gaddafi uprising and was the site of the 2012 terror attack on a US diplomatic compound that killed four Americans. Known for his deep involvement in global conflict zones, VanDyke joined the revolution in Libya as, what he claims to be, a ‘rebel fighter’ in several of his YouTube videos. He gained prominence after being wounded and left unconscious, only to be captured and woken up in a prison cell sometimes later.

A self-described veteran of the Libyan Revolution, VanDyke claims to have spent nearly six months as a prisoner of war before he somehow managed to flee. He then decided to return to the US. It was after his return that the civil war in Syria in 2012 grabbed his attention. He worked in the Syrian territory too, supporting anti-Assad groups and even directed a film on the subject titled “Not Anymore: Story of a Revolution” based in Aleppo, Syria. With a documented history of himself in conflict zones, VanDyke’s idea was to mobilise public opinion in favour of the ‘Revolution’.[8] He was declared a terrorist by the Assad regime. After the execution of two of his journalist friends – James Foley and Steven Sotloff – by ISIS militants in Syria in August and September 2014, respectively, he began to ponder what could be done to combat the ISIS threat.

Thereafter, he founded a private organisation named ‘Sons of Liberty International’ (SOLI), which provides military training and support to groups across the world opposing authoritarian regimes. Its objective was to prepare for an anti-ISIS offensive and train Iraqi Christians to fight against organisations such as ISIS. Their first mission was in the Nineveh Plains of Mosul in Northern Iraq, a place, VanDyke claims, where the Christian population has suffered massive losses of their lands and properties under ISIS. Therefore, he and his organisation decided to start a mission to help them recapture their lost lands. They filmed their activities in Iraq every week, documenting their mission and chronicling their work in real-time.

In a video that went viral on social media soon after the arrests, Matthew VanDyke, while on his way to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with the US State Department, could be seen claiming that he and his team are looking for people who might be interested in making donations. In the same video, VanDyke also claims that a lot of their supporters at present are people who care about ‘Christian persecution’ and people of their faith. He then exchanges greetings with a pastor named William Devlin of the Infinity Bible Church. The pastor offers to introduce VanDyke to a friend whom he claims he hasn’t met for the past 15 years or so, but hopes that he might be able to contribute. It is specifically mentioned at the bottom of the video that cameras are not allowed in the meeting.

Later, the pastor is seen to claim that the meeting was very “successful” and VanDyke expresses his happiness over the same. He further mentions that most of his groundwork for the next mission in Iraq is completed, and frontline training is set to begin soon. Although VanDyke says that he and his organisation have no official ties with the US Government and they raise funds exclusively through private donations, they consistently appear in regions where the US military is either deployed or preparing for intervention. Besides Iraq, he has worked in numerous countries affected by long years of conflict, including Ukraine, Venezuela, the Philippines, Libya, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, and Spain, in the past.[9]

VanDyke himself specialises in training irregular forces in urban combat and drone operations. He was now preparing to start work in India’s North-East and Myanmar, in particular. He is alleged to have had a significant operational and informational partnership with Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, a prominent open-source intelligence (OSINT). Claims have been fuelled that Bellingcat, under Higgins’ leadership, functioned as a public relations arm for Western Intelligence agencies, including the CIA and MI6, by selectively releasing or suppressing information to support geopolitical objectives.[10] The reports suggest that Bellingcat deliberately withheld or misrepresented VanDyke’s intelligence to maintain a pro-Western narrative, particularly in attributing chemical attacks to the Syrian Government.

The connection between VanDyke’s on-ground activities and Bellingcat’s media output is presented as a coordinated effort to influence global perception while advancing strategic interests. Along with VanDyke, six Ukrainians were arrested – Maksym Honcharuk, Petro Hurba, Sukmanovskyi Ivan, Stefankiv Marian, Slyviak Taras, and Kaminskyi Viktor. It was later known that they all had military backgrounds and were highly skilled in carrying out drone operations. One among them, Stefankiv Marian, was reported to have deep ties with Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR).[11] Hailing from Ukraine’s Lviv region, Stefankiv was earlier associated with Pravy Sektor – a Ukrainian neo-Nazi organisation that has killed a large number of civilians.

In 2019, Stefankiv co-founded an NGO in Lviv called ‘Circle of Honor’, with the official mission of protecting local animals in the Carpathian Mountains. However, in reality, it was found to be engaged in supplying arms to Ukrainian neo-Nazi units. It is reported that since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, his NGO has been deeply involved in funnelling weapons, drones, and military supplies to various Ukrainian units. Stefankiv later joined Aratta, a special unit operating under the command of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate.[12] Aratta, along with the mercenary units that constitute the International Legion of the GUR, rarely finds itself on the front lines. Their last known major deployment was in 2023 during the Battle for Bakhmut (Artemovsk).

Reports have indicated that they were planning to train militants in the North-East in combat skills and advanced drone warfare technologies, earlier used by Ukrainian air defence systems to destroy hundreds of Russian tanks overnight. Ukraine, with its maximum experience in drone warfare, manufactures the cheapest drones in the world today. The huge consignment of drones that the foreigners brought along with them from Europe could have been used to either target Myanmar’s Tatmadaw or Manipur, in the worst case. Just a few days after the arrest of VanDyke and his accomplices, incidents of firing upon local Meitei villagers by suspected armed Kuki militants were reported from the hills of Pukhao Naharup Chingphei in Imphal East.[13]

According to reports, gunshots were heard while villagers were engaged in routine agricultural work in the nearby fields, triggering panic in the area. The development again highlighted the fragile security situation in parts of Manipur, where intermittent tensions continue to disrupt normal life while foreign agents, including Church leaders, operate with impunity. About VanDyke’s network, the NIA’s FIR stated that ethnic militias in Myanmar were being provided military-grade technological training in drone operations, assembly, repair and jamming technology,[14] modern electronic warfare techniques, including multiple pre-scheduled sessions that are too dangerous and typically used to neutralise enemy drones by disrupting their communication and GPS signals.

The group reportedly visited Manipur and established contacts with breakaway groups in both Manipur and Myanmar. The aim was to supply the separatist groups in Myanmar with drone components, batteries and chargers, and train them to operate these drones not only against the Tatmadaw but also Bharat. As per reports, they sought to establish a “Forward Logistics Base” in Manipur to manage the steady flow of specialised military hardware and facilitate drone shipments. This base was intended to receive and store consignments of sophisticated drones and components imported from Europe. Russia had reacted strongly to the issue, criticising Ukraine for concealing the incident and avoiding scrutiny of its citizens’ activities, which, it claimed, were designed to destabilise India’s North-East.[15]

Moscow urged the international community to take note of Ukraine’s destabilising activities and the wider risks posed by Western-backed policies. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova specifically accused Kyiv of being a “core exporter of instability” in global arms and conflicts, highlighting Ukraine’s role in global arms market supplies and regional conflicts from South Asia to the Middle East.[16] She also claimed that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry remained silent on violations of India’s counter-terrorism laws, while accusing both the Indian and Russian media of falsifying facts. However, the Ukrainian Embassy in Delhi stated that Ukraine rejects any insinuations of involvement in supporting terrorist activities, adding that it continues to take a firm stance against terrorism.

(To be Continued….)