Aircraft of Defense Ministry flies to Afghanistan for possible evacuation of Ukrainian citizens - MFA
More than 150 Ukrainians, members of their families and other foreigners have announced their desire to be evacuated from Afghanistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, together with the involved departments, is working to create conditions for their safe evacuation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said.
"We are working on two plans: the evacuation of citizens by plane, which is already at the Kabul airport, and the evacuation by the plane of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, which flew from Kyiv today," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
He said there are three immediate tasks that Ukrainian diplomats are currently solving. "The first is a safe corridor for access to the airport, because the situation there remains partially uncontrollable, part of the airport is closed, another part is controlled by foreign troops, a number of checkpoints are located at the entrances to the airport. The second is the safe boarding of people on the plane and its technical preparation: we have all seen footage in the news, what a crowd gathered at the Kabul airport, how people are trying to catch at least some opportunity to get on the planes; there was also a dysfunction of service companies, primarily for refueling," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
According to Nikolenko, the third task is to obtain permission to take off and safely exit the aircraft from the territory of Afghanistan.
"The evacuation will start as soon as these issues are resolved. We hope that this will happen in the near future," the spokesperson said.
He also said that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke on the phone on Wednesday morning with one of 12 Ukrainians at a former military base near Kabul. "The citizens have assured that there is no immediate threat to their life and health. Their condition is satisfactory. They can move freely around the base. Our embassy maintains regular contact with them, interacts with the involved parties to unblock the base and evacuate. The group also has an alternative option of assistance from the employer," Nikolenko said.
