Ukraine, Iran deny reports Kabul plane hijacked after radio interview mixup

Iran and Ukraine have denied reports that a Ukrainian plane involved in evacuating Ukrainian nationals from Afghanistan was hijacked on Sunday and flown to Iran.

Confusion emerged over comments by Ukraine's second most senior diplomat, who discussed his country's frantic evacuation efforts amid chaos at Kabul airport.  

Speaking to a domestic radio station, deputy Ukraine's Foreign Minister Yevhenni Yenin said: "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."

Russian state media reported the radio remarks as implying that a Ukrainian plane had been hijacked and flown to Iran.

Iran's Civil Aviation Authority rejected reports of any hijacking after reports circulated in media, saying that a Ukrainian plane refueled in the city of Mashhad before flying to Kyiv.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry also denied the reports.

"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," said Oleg Nikolenki in a statement reported by the RMC Ukraine news agency

The spokesman stressed that the minister's comments were not meant literally and pointed to the immense challenge faced by the country's diplomats in evacuating Ukrainians.

A military transport plane carrying 83 people, including 31 Ukrainians, arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.

It is not clear whether the minister originally meant that an incident had occurred on 15 August, as the Taliban entered Kabul, or on 22 August.

Flight tracking data seen by The Guardian shows a Ukrainian plane flying from Kabul to Mashhad on Monday, not on Tuesday as Yenin claimed. Data also shows the same plane flying from Mashhad to Kyiv.

Early last year, Iran's Revolutionary Guard accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people.