Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry tries to shield arrested suspects and castigate NIA: Read how they have been undiplomatic and habitually arrogant for years
· OpIndia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has lodged a protest with the Modi government after six of its nationals, along with a known United States mercenary, were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in relation to a terror-related plot. The Ukrainians were nabbed from the airports in Delhi and Lucknow. American Mathew Aaron Van Dyke, creator of the non-profit security contracting company, “Sons of Liberty International (SOLI)”, reportedly led their network and was apprehended at the Kolkata airport.
On 16th March (Monday) Patiala House Court remanded them to NIA custody until 27th March (Friday). The agency informed the court that it is searching for 8 other Ukrainians and all 15 had entered the country illegally on tourist visas. It disclosed that they trained rebel ethnic groups in Myanmar, tightly linked with anti-India militant outfits. They also carried a large consignment of drones from Europe, as per the NIA.
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“On 13th March 2026, six citizens of Ukraine were detained in the Republic of India. According to preliminary information, the charges concern unauthorized presence in the state of Mizoram, access to which requires a special permit, as well as the alleged illegal crossing of the state border between India and Myanmar. At present, the competent authorities of India are conducting the relevant investigative actions,” the formal statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry read.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry contended that there are “no verified facts” demonstrating the participation of the arrested individuals in illicit activities within India or Myanmar. Afterwards, their dubious involvement, as emphasised by the NIA and reported by both Indian and Russian media, was termed as “distorted interpretations of the available facts, are manipulative in nature and put forward unfounded allegations.”
Full statement of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 17, 2026
On 13 March 2026, six citizens of Ukraine were detained in the Republic of India. According to preliminary information, the charges concern unauthorized presence in the state of Mizoram, access to which requires a special…
The ministry mentioned, “The details of the case are not being disclosed in the interests of the investigation. With the assistance of Ukrainian consular officers of the Embassy of Ukraine in India, the citizens have been provided with legal aid and defence counsel during the court proceedings.”
“On 16th March 2026, a court hearing took place, which was also attended by representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India, however, they were not granted the opportunity to communicate directly with the detainees. Following the hearing, the court decided to extend their detention until 27th March 2026,” it added.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry complains about “not getting notice”, tries to defend its arrested citizens who were working with terrorists
The release then referenced international norms to complain about “not receiving any official notification from the competent authorities” concerning the development and demanded “immediate provision of unimpeded consular access to the detainees.” It informed that Ukrainian ambassador Dr Oleksandr Polishchuk met with Sibi George, the Secretary (West) of Ministry of External Affairs and delivered an official protest letter calling for the prompt release and access of Ukrainian nationals.
“In addition, the embassy is maintaining contacts with other competent authorities of India in order to clarify all the circumstances and reasons for the detention,” Kyiv stated and highlighted that its diplomatic mission is constantly in touch with the relatives of the captured Ukrainians “and is keeping the situation under special control.”
“We draw attention to the fact that there are certain restricted-access zones in India for foreign nationals, entry to which is possible only with special permits. At the same time, proper marking of such areas on the ground is often absent, which creates a risk of unintentional violation of the established rules,” the ministry concluded in a stunning effort to sanitise the gravity of the charges, including training ethnic armed groups, breaking into prohibited regions in Mizoram, entering Myanmar without authorisation and helping to send drone consignments from Europe to channels connected to militants.
Ukraine is trying to frame the critical situation as if few naive foreigners oblivious to local laws, trespassed into territory where they were not allowed but the Indian government has chosen to prosecute them in contravention of international laws rather than releasing them for their minor infraction. However, the truth is clearly contrary to this claim as revealed by the NIA.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has been arrogant and undiplomatic on a regular basis
The Eastern European nation has a tendency to issue undiplomatic decrees to India, asking it to adhere to the Western antiquated script of offering steadfast support for Ukraine and acutely oppose Russia. India’s non-alignment policy, which is not directed towards any specific nation and serves as a robust affirmation of its sovereignty while promoting peace has particularly irked Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, on the same day the Russian special military operation started against Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ambassador in India immediately expected India to declare explicit support to Ukraine and denounce its long-time ally, Russia. Speaking to media in Delhi, the then Ukrainian Ambassador Igor Polikha declared he is “dissatisfied with India’s response”, as if his satisfaction was supposed to be India’s foreign policy priority regarding a war that has nothing to do with India.
Polikha lashed out at New Delhi for not aligning with their stance in the war against Russia in 2022. He asserted that he was tracking all of the reports on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs alongside the advisory issued for the Indian nationals residing in Ukraine.
“The recommendations and statement that India is closely following the development of events. We are deeply dissatisfied with this position. What does this mean, closely following? Now, 50 people have been killed. When hundreds and thousands will be killed in this case, what will happen? Will follow more closely,” Polikha fumed while talking to the media.
“We are expecting a much more favourable attitude of the Indian government in this crisis situation. It is the moment of truth. The moment of destiny. We are waiting, asking and pleading for the support of India,” he insisted. The diplomat stressed that, given its “special, privileged, strategic relation with Russia,” Ukraine wanted further engagement from the country.
He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “one of the most powerful, respected world leaders,” and conveyed, “I don’t know how many word leaders Vladimir Putin may listen to. But the stature of Modi makes me hopeful that in case of his strong voice, Putin at least should think over.”
Polikha also argued, “PM Modi can address Putin. He can address our president (Volodymyr Zelenskyy). This is not the time for protocol bound statements. Your officials said they are closely watching the situation. This means nothing. India is the founder of non-alignment.”
He then adjusted his bitter demeanour and submitted, “We are not dictating to our friends. We are pleading that you can provide us military diplomatic or any other kind of assistance. Very few countries in the world can influence Russia and India is one of those nations with special ties with Russia.”
Polikha commended PM Modi as a means to mitigate his unwarranted criticism but his comments resembled commands rather than requests, which were directed at a subordinate who later faced reprimand for not executing them effectively. Ironically, he invoked the non-alignment movement solely to seek its breach.
‘Russian crude oil delivered to India has Ukrainian blood’: Foreign Minister Kuleba added obnoxious drama to diplomacy
“Every barrel of Russian crude oil delivered to India has a good portion of Ukrainian blood in it,” ex-foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, announced in a press conference in 2022. He reiterated his remark and slammed India regarding the importation of low-cost Russian oil as “morally inappropriate.”
India Today headline“The opportunity for India to buy Russian oil at a cheap price comes from the fact that Ukrainians are suffering from Russian aggression and dying every day,” he accused in an interview with NDTV. He hit out, “If you benefit because of our suffering, it would be good to see more of your help addressed to us.”
Kuleba also responded to Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, who exposed how the European Union purchased more fossil fuel from Russia between February and November of that year than the next ten nations put together. However, he chose to defend the hypocrisy instead of outlining it and claimed, “It is not enough to point fingers at the European Union and say, Oh, they are doing the same thing.”
“India is a very important player in the global arena and the Prime Minister of India, with his voice, can make a change. We are waiting for the moment when Indian foreign policy will call spade a spade, and name the conflict – not war in Ukraine, but what it is, a Russian aggression against Ukraine,” he voiced.
Kuleba made similar comments and again pressed India to grant massive support to Ukraine as a “balanced gesture” for procuring Russian oil at low costs.
Kuleba, instead of asking for help and support, went on to castigate and berate India, often displaying an attitude as if Ukraine is entitled to special gratitude from India, for some unknown reason. While demanding compliance, he even expected India to ignore its own national interests and neglect the energy needs of a nation of 1.4 billion.
Ukraine has been selling weapons to Pakistan, while expecting India to ditch Russian oil
Ukraine has not missed any opportunity to lecture India over the plight of its citizens, yet it has conveniently overlooked reciprocating the same sentiment while continuing to supply arms to Pakistan. Moreover, the Islamic Republic has employed terrorism as a state policy to inflict bloodshed across the border for past several years in stark contrast to the conventional confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.
Kyiv had given Islamabad weaponry valued at about USD 1.6 billion till 2020. The Print cited a Pakistani journalist who boasted, “Ukraine and Pakistan are old partners in defence trade, and there is nothing new in this.” The country appears indifferent to how its foreign policy could contribute to the adverse effects on India, but purports entitlement to special attention.
Additionally, India has been providing consistent help to Ukraine since the onset of the dispute in 2022. The government in 2024 informed the Rajya Sabha that it dispatched 15 shipments of humanitarian aid totalling around 117 metric tonnes from March of that year. These shipments included medications, medical supplies, blankets, tents, tarps, solar lamps, dignity kits, sleeping mats, and diesel generator sets, among other items.
The center supplied funding for the renovation, remodelling and rebuilding of a Ukrainian institution (Kyiv Gymnasium of Oriental Language Number 1). It contributed for the training of teachers from three schools in Kyiv with the goal of encouraging and rehabilitating the psychological well-being of Ukrainian children and young people.
The government offered to execute High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in accordance with the needs of the local communities in Ukraine as part of its humanitarian and reconstruction support. Periodically, more submissions from Ukraine were handled on an individual basis.
PM Modi gifted BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to Ukraine in August of that year. “Each cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. It also includes surgical equipment for a basic Operation Room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day,” a notification mentioned.
“The cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the cube,” it added.
India has been calling for peace, but Ukraine has been expecting Europe-like submission before their demands
Indis has opted to remain neutral, choosing to advocate for peace and regularly restated its commitment to resolving any problems through dialogue rather than warfare. This has been the country’s unwavering stand, even during the recent escalation in the Middle East.
“I know that today’s era is not of war and we have spoken to you many times on the phone that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue are such things that touch the world,” PM Modi had famously conveyed to Putin in 2022. “We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved solely through military conflict. Whether in Ukraine or in West Asia, we will continue to support every effort aimed at the early end of conflict and the restoration of peace,” PM Modi expressed this month.
Iran and Israel have acknowledged this decision, in place of forcing the nation to choose a side and reacting negatively when refused. More importantly, the Modi government has always maintained that its interests are supreme, shaping its policies like any other sovereign entity that is not a vassal state.
Conclusion
Kyiv that demands extensively from New Delhi has taken to denouncing the latter’s national agency and government only because Ukrainian citizens are found to be implicit in anti-India acts that could potentially endanger civilian lives and cause greater damage. This leads to the question of whether the blood of its people is more precious than those of Indians for Ukraine? The hypocrisy of the country at least seems to indicate so.