According to the defence ministry of Russia, Russian military transport planes delivered a supply of humanitarian goods to Afghanistan on Saturday and flew back 200 Russians, Afghan students and others back from the country.
Three Il-76 cargo jets will stop in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan before flying to Moscow, the defence ministry reported. The planes transported Russian and Kyrgyz residents who wanted to escape Afghanistan, as well as Afghan students who were enrolled in Russian universities, according to the report.
The trip on Saturday was the latest in a string of similar Russian missions that began in August. 770 individuals of Russia and other ex-Soviet countries had been evacuated on previous planes, which provided humanitarian cargo.
Unlike many other countries, Russia has kept its embassy in Kabul open and its ambassador has maintained frequent contact with the Taliban since the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital in August. Despite designating the Taliban as a terror organisation in 2003 and never removing it from the list, Russia has sought for years to build relations with the group.
Moscow conducted meetings on Afghanistan in October involving senior Taliban representatives and politicians from neighbouring countries, highlighting Moscow’s weight in Central Asia.
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