Ukraine denies hijacking of its aircraft in Kabul
- Ukraine says no Ukrainian planes have been hijacked in Kabul or anywhere else.
- All Ukrainian evacuation planes have safely returned to Kiev.
- 256 people were evacuated on three flights.
Earlier reports of a Ukrainian plane hijacked in the Afghan capital of Kabul and then flown to Iran were incorrect, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Ukraine denies hijacking in Kabul
“No Ukrainian planes were hijacked in Kabul or anywhere else. Reports of a hijacked plane spread by some media are untrue, ”Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said today in an interview with the Ukrainian news agency RBC.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all the planes that Kiev used to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from Afghanistan have safely returned to Ukraine. So far, 256 people have been evacuated on three flights.
The spokesman for the Iranian civil aviation organization Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh denied reports of a hijacked aircraft. According to the news agency Mehr, he pointed out that the Ukrainian airliner made a stopover in the Iranian city of Mashhad to refuel and later drove to Kiev, where it landed at 10:50 p.m. local time.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin previously claimed that unknown persons confiscated a Ukrainian plane and flew it to Iran on Tuesday. According to the official, the plane was actually hijacked.
