Russian Defense Ministry evacuates 500 people from Afghanistan

Under the instruction of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Defense Ministry has organized the evacuation of more than 500 people from Afghanistan, Interfax reported on Wednesday, August 25.

The evacuation will include Russian nationals, as well as citizens of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Four military transport planes have been deployed to carry out the evacuation, each carrying a brigade of military doctors, as well as supplies of drinking water, food rations, and blankets.

Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced the organization of a special flight for Russian citizens wishing to leave Afghanistan. However, she stressed that there was no talk of evacuating Russian nationals from the country at that time.

Against the backdrop of the U.S. military withdrawing from Afghanistan, nearly the entire country’s territory has fallen to the Taliban. On August 15, the militant group seized control of the capital, Kabul, after which Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Evacuations began as the Taliban took Kabul. They are being carried out through the Kabul airport, which is under the control of the U.S. military. Citizens of the United States and European countries, along with Afghan nationals who helped these countries, are being taken out of Afghanistan.

Since August 14, the U.S. alone has evacuated around 28,000 people from Afghanistan. Foreign evacuations are set to end on August 31.