Up to 50 Ukrainians staying in Afghanistan – MFA

14:26, 16.08.2021 1 min read

Up to 50 Ukrainian citizens continue to stay in Afghanistan, diplomats are clarifying which of them wants to be evacuated, said Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

"According to the Foreign Ministry, up to 50 Ukrainians continue to stay in Afghanistan. Communication has now been established with almost all of them, diplomats are clarifying which of them wants to be evacuated," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.

According to the spokesman, in parallel, possible ways of safe evacuation are being worked out, including using the capabilities of foreign partners.

"We are keeping the situation under special control," he assured.

Nikolenko also recalled that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba instructed to urgently strengthen the Ukrainian Embassy in Dushanbe, which is responsible for Afghanistan.

"Now two Ukrainian diplomatic missions at once - in Tajikistan and Pakistan - are monitoring the situation and are ready to help our citizens," he explained.

As reported, on the eve, the Ukrainian plane took out 79 people from Afghanistan: eight citizens of Ukraine, as well as citizens of the Netherlands, Croatia, Belarus, and Afghanistan.