Photo: Focus
At the end of August, just days before the Hamid Karzai airport fell into Taliban hands, Ukraine carried out a daring rescue operation in Kabul, resulting in the rescue of 700 people. This was stated on the Facebook page and the website of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
Among the evacuees were citizens of Ukraine, as well as citizens of other countries, including UN representatives, members of human rights organizations, employees of several media – Global Mail, USA Today, Washington Post, Stars and Stipes and others, as well as people who cooperated with the coalition contingent.
Ukrainian troops were the only forces who came outside the safe area of the airport, which was still controlled by the US Army. The last American flight left it on August 30.
«None of the other evacuation missions dared to make such a risky decision, as the area outside the airport was already controlled by Taliban militants.» – the Main Intelligence Directorate website states.
Despite the fact that Ukraine didn’t have its own peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan, its troops managed to achieve a staggering result, evacuating more than 700 people, as the result of which Ukraine was ranked eighth in the number of evacuees among European countries.
By Vitalii Holich