The Rouse Avenue court allowed the six Ukrainians to stay outside India until the next hearing on February 24. VanDyke was permitted to travel to the US.

New Delhi: US national Matthew Aaron VanDyke returned to India and appeared before a Delhi court on Friday in the Myanmar training camp case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The court extended the six Ukrainian co-accused’s permission to stay outside India.

What the court decided

VanDyke appeared in person before the Rouse Avenue court. The court extended the Ukrainian nationals’ permission to stay abroad until the next hearing on February 24, and also permitted VanDyke to travel to the US. His application seeking the release of his personal articles was kept pending.

He had been ordered to appear within 72 hours of returning to India. That condition came from the court’s earlier order allowing him and the six Ukrainians to go home for a month, provided they rejoined the probe.

The case against them

The NIA arrested VanDyke and the six Ukrainians in March 2026. The agency has alleged that the seven entered India on visas, travelled to Mizoram, a protected area, and crossed into Myanmar. There, it says, they trained ethnic armed groups in drone warfare. It also alleges that large consignments of drones were brought from Europe to Myanmar via India for those groups.

A court remanded them to 11 days of NIA custody in March. The six Ukrainians are Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksym Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi.

Default bail and the UAPA

The seven were later granted default bail on immigration offences and walked out of Tihar jail, after which the court allowed them to return home for a month. The court dropped Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act provisions at the bail stage, but the NIA has maintained that its investigation into possible UAPA offences continues. It is also examining whether local facilitators helped the accused travel through Mizoram and operate across the border.

VanDyke is represented by advocates Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour, and the Ukrainians by advocate Nitin Saluja. The allegations are unproven.

What happens next

The next hearing is on February 24. Until then, the six Ukrainians may stay abroad. The case turns on whether the NIA can establish UAPA offences, or whether the matter remains confined to immigration violations.