A Russian news agency has reported that a Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan to rescue its citizens has been hijacked by armed people. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin on Tuesday informed that the plane has been taken to Iran.
However, Ukraine has since denied the reports of hijacking.
As per Russian news agency, Yenin on multiple failed attempts of evacuation said, “Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people. On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us, it flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard instead of airlifting Ukrainians.”
“Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport,” Yenin added vaguely.
The Minister, however, has not commented on the whereabouts of the plane or what happened to the plane. There’s also no clarity as yet on how the Ukrainian citizens got back from Kabul when the plane sent for evacuation was “practically stolen” or was there another one sent by Kyiv.
Yenin also criticized the diplomatic service headed by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba claiming that it has been working in a ‘crash test’ mode.
However, Kiev has denied any such incident of hijacking.
#BREAKING
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) August 24, 2021
Ukrainian FM spokesperson has denied any hijacking of a Ukrainian evacuation plane.
Russian media outlet Interfax as well as Ukrainian FM spokesperson have denied reports of plane hijacking, as per Iran state affiliated media, Tehran Times.
As per news agency IANS, a military transport plane with 83 people, including 31 Ukrainians, arrived from Afghanistan to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The office of the president reported that 12 military personnel too returned home safely. 100 Ukrainians are still waiting for evacuation from Afghanistan, agency reports said.
