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Russia’s military aircraft with humanitarian cargo for Afghanistan lands in Kabul

On December 1, three Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft delivered some 36 tons of humanitarian cargo to Kabul and evacuated over 210 Russian and Kyrgyz nationals as well as Afghans studying at Russian universities

MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Russia’s military cargo plane carrying humanitarian aid for Afghanistan has landed at the airport in Kabul, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"Upon an order of Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu to organize a cargo haul [to Afghanistan], three planes of the Russian military and transport aviation were dispatched and they took off as soon as possible from the Chkalovsk airfield," the statement reads.

"The first plane of the Russian military and transport aviation carrying humanitarian aid landed at the Kabul Airport," according to the statement.

On December 1, three Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft delivered some 36 tons of humanitarian cargo to Kabul and evacuated over 210 Russian and Kyrgyz nationals as well as Afghans studying at Russian universities.

Situation in Afghanistan

The Taliban and the US administration led by then President Donald Trump signed a peace agreement in Qatar’s capital of Doha on February 29, 2020. According to the document, the US and coalition members were supposed to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. The Taliban, in turn, guaranteed that they would not use Afghan soil to carry out activities posing a security threat to the United States or its allies.

After the United States announced plans for its troop pullout from Afghanistan, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on a large-scale operation to take the country under its control. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. On September 7, the Taliban announced a new Afghan government consisting only of the movement’s members, the majority of whom are ethnic Pashtuns. Many countries stated that the government was not inclusive and called on the Taliban to include members of ethnic minorities and women in the cabinet.

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