Ukrainian Plane Sent on Evacuation Mission to Afghanistan Hijacked and Taken to Iran, Countries Deny

The Ukrainian plane tasked to evacuate its nationals from Afghanistan has reportedly been hijacked by unidentified people who flew it into Iran, a claim both countries denied.

"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 onboard 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 Yevgeny Yenin was quoted as saying by TASS.

The minister added that hijackers were armed and did not comment on the further actions of the Ukrainian government.

On Sunday, 83 people including 31 Ukrainians arrived from Afghanistan to Kiev on a military transport plane.

Iran's Civil Aviation Authority clarified that the plane refuelled in Mashhad and then flew to Kiev.

Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, also said that the report was false, as per RBC Ukraine news agency. "There are no captured Ukrainian planes in Kabul or elsewhere. The information about the 'captured plane' that is being circulated by some media outlets is not true," Nikolenko said.