Over a dozen Ukrainians are surrounded by the Taliban in military bases in Afghanistan, where they have worked under private military contracts, according to publications Suspilne and LIGA.net, who spoke to some of those Ukrainians and their relatives.
On Aug. 15, the radical Islamist movement Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, just weeks after the U.S. and its allies withdrew their troops from the country. Hundred of thousands of people have since tried to flee the country, fearing for their safety.
A man who spoke to LIGA.net on condition of anonymity said that he and 12 other Ukrainians who are stuck at a military base reached out to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and the military attaché on Aug. 16, asking for evacuation, but were told to make their way to neighboring Pakistan.
Going to Pakistan is impossible at the moment, because the group “can’t even leave (their) base and drive three kilometers to the airport,” the man told LIGA.net. He also said he is aware of more Ukrainians stuck at other bases.
Valeria Lazarieva, whose husband has been guarding embassies and business centers in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, for over two years, told Suspilne that her husband was supposed to fly out on Aug. 18, but all commercial flights that were halted after Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. The private company Lazarieva’s husband works for told him and other employees there will be a charter flight available on Aug. 18-19, but that was canceled as well.
“They are barricaded inside and cannot leave the base because the city is in chaos. The base is surrounded by the Taliban, everything is bloodless now, peaceful and without shooting. But the guys don’t understand what position they are in. Most likely, they are being held hostage,” Lazarieva told Suspilne.
She declined to comment to the Kyiv Post, saying that her husband asked her to avoid speaking with the press.
“The Ukrainian embassies in Tajikistan and Pakistan are currently compiling a list of our citizens who wish to be evacuated from Afghanistan. To receive assistance, Ukrainians in Afghanistan must provide the Embassy in Tajikistan or Pakistan with their contact details and location,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 120 Ukrainian citizens and their family members have asked for evacuation from Afghanistan. The ministry is in touch with everyone, according to Nikolenko.
“The number one priority is security. The evacuation will begin only when conditions are safe,” he said.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there is a Ukrainian plane at Kabul airport available for evacuation, but it cannot fly out. He also said Ukraine will evacuate citizens of other countries if there is enough space on the plane. On Aug. 16, citizens of Ukraine, the Netherlands, Croatia, Belarus and Afghanistan were evacuated from Kabul on a Ukrainian aircraft.
“We don’t abandon our people and help others. In case of further requests, we will do everything possible to help Ukrainians & foreigners,” Kuleba tweeted.
Read more: What Afghanistan’s fall means for Ukraine, another US ally at war
