As the Taliban terrorist organization steadily gains ground in Afghanistan, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recommended for the 50-100 Ukrainians there to leave the country.
The ministry has started preparing evacuation procedures, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Aug. 13. So far, the ministry has not received any requests for help departing Afghanistan.
“While there have been no evacuation requests made, I’d like to stress that we are working 24/7 and are ready to help our citizens with any means available to us,” Kuleba said.
He asked that Ukrainians in Afghanistan alert the Ukrainian embassy in Tajikistan of their location.
Discussing the friendly relations between Ukraine and Afghanistan and the Jan. 8, 2020 downing of flight PS-752 above Tehran that killed both Ukrainian and Afghan passengers, the minister said: “Above all, we wish the Afghan people peace, but also stability, which is not possible without stopping military action”.
The EU has called on the Taliban to immediately stop its conquest drive.
“If power is taken by force and an Islamic Emirate re-established, the Taliban would face non-recognition, isolation, lack of international support and the prospect of continued conflict and protracted instability in Afghanistan,” said EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
On Aug. 13, the Taliban seized Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, the organization’s most significant gain to date. Earlier, it took control of at least 14 out of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.
The terrorist group has been rapidly taking control of Afghan territories following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, which had fought there for nearly 20 years.
The U.S. and U.K. have started evacuating their diplomatic staff from the country. The U.S. has deployed 3,000 troops to help evacuate staff from the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
Some European countries have halted deportations of Afghan asylum seekers whose applications were rejected.
