Ukraine denies claims of hijacked evacuation flight

After a Ukraine minister, Yevhen Yenin, claimed that a passenger jet meant to evacuate people fleeing from Afghanistan to Ukraine was hijacked at gunpoint and flown to Iran, Ukraine’s government denied the claims and said they were false.

“Our plane was hijacked last Sunday by [unknown] people,” Yenin told Ukrainian public radio. “They were armed, including with firearms. On Tuesday, our plane was effectively stolen – it flew to Iran with an unknown group of passengers onboard instead of carrying out the Ukrainians.” A Ukraine spokesperson clarified and said that Yenin was trying to describe the difficulties faced by Ukrainian pilots during the evacuation of Kabul.