A Ukrainian passenger aircraft was reportedly hijacked by unknown men in Kabul on Sunday. The plane, which was on the mission of evacuation, was diverted to Iran, the Russian News Agency, TASS, reported on Tuesday. The plane reportedly arrived in Kabul on Sunday to bring Ukrainians out of Afghanistan due to fear of the Taliban.
“Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people. On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us, it flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboar instead of airlifting Ukrainians. Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport,” Ukraine’s Deputy foreign minister told TASS.
According to reports, the armed hijackers took control of a Ukrainian plane and flew it to Iran after it arrived in Afghanistan.
The TASS reported that the plane was carrying dozens of people.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran has dismissed such claims on the hijacking of a Ukrainian plane, saying “this plane came to Mashhad airport (northeastern Iran) yesterday for refuelling and safely returned to Kyiv.