Matthew VanDyke, arrested along with six Ukrainians, claims his jailing was tied to the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev
The freelance US military instructor who was accused of training terrorists in Myanmar but later released by an Indian court on bail has alleged that he is a pawn caught up in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Matthew VanDyke, described in court as a mercenary who has worked in Libya, and six Ukrainians who were arrested along with him, were granted bail in September after New Delhi’s top anti-terror agency failed to file charges against them on time.
The seven were detained in various cities in India, having returned to the country from Bangladesh, and were preparing to fly on.
“India threw me and several Ukrainians in prison for over six months,” VanDyke posted on X. “This was part of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
He added that he will reveal “shocking details” about what happened over the next few months.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier reportedly found evidence that VanDyke had delivered multiple consignments of drones from Europe to individuals and groups in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram. It is not known from where the drone components were transited to Myanmar, where local insurgent groups are reportedly linked to rebel outfits in India’s northeast region.
In a series of posts on X, VanDyke claimed that he had not been accused of “doing anything against India.”
“The Indian government never even alleged that I was smuggling arms in India,” he posted.
VanDyke, who claims he runs a charity called Sons of Liberty, which provides military training in conflict zones, insisted “we do our missions for free and I spent money, I didn’t make money from it,” and that he will present for a court hearing in February 2027.
In August, VanDyke posted an appeal by his family on the Sons of Liberty International letterhead appealing to US diplomats to intervene and secure his release.
His family has also claimed the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, briefed Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about VanDyke in May.
