No servicemen of Armed Forces of Ukraine in Afghanistan – Defense Ministry

There are no servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the territory of Afghanistan, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.

"Peacekeepers performing tasks in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission returned to Ukraine as of June 8. Consequently, there are no military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the territory of Afghanistan," Maliar wrote on Facebook.

On August 15, Taliban fighters entered Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, virtually unopposed. The Taliban have said they control all of Afghanistan.

The spokesman for the Taliban's political office, Mohammad Naeem, said the war in Afghanistan was "over" and added that no diplomatic organization had been targeted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 80 people, including eight Ukrainians, had been evacuated from Kabul by a Ukrainian plane.

As of the morning of August 17, 120 Ukrainians of Afghan descent and their families expressed their desire to be evacuated from Afghanistan, and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is currently in contact with them.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said that diplomats are in contact with Ukrainians blocked at a military base in Afghanistan and will instruct them on further steps when their evacuation becomes possible.

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