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This was announced by the Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday. The exact time the aircraft will land at Vilnius International Airport was not announced until late evening. A little later it turned out that the plane should land just before 3pm in the morning.
It has been announced that a Polish airline plane will land at Vilnius airport in the evening from Tuesday to Wednesday, with 14 families of translators arriving in Lithuania, a total of 50 people.
The plane arrived shortly after 4 pm in the morning, people of different ages were seen getting off the plane, holding the children. Some people had their heads and faces covered.
The evacuation operation began on Friday.
Its evacuation operation began on Friday: a team of ten Lithuanian soldiers with a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent to Kabul to carry it out. They gathered interpreters and their families for several days at the Kabul airport and arranged a flight to Lithuania with the Polish government.
“Our soldiers carried out a practically unimaginable operation: with the support of the allies to transfer the dispersed families to the Kabul airport, helping them reach the evacuation point and finally with the politically coordinated support of the partners to successfully implement the evacuation, “said Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas.
According to him, the operation that has started is better adapted to the changing situation in Kabul. His script was created last week by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense and Armed Forces in active cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its allies.
“Lithuania has participated jointly and severally in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and we are also contributing to the evacuation of aides in the event of a change in circumstances. Lithuanian diplomats are working countless hours these days to rescue our Afghan aides. The unity and coordinated action of the Allies is more important than ever in this situation. We are especially grateful to Poland and our other partners, as well as to our diplomatic service and missions who have helped to secure agreements with other countries and the smooth crossing. from the territories of other countries, “said Chancellor Gabriel Landsbergis.
“We do not yet know the end of this complex operation, but I can already say today that the landing of the Afghan people in Lithuania is the result of strong and constant cooperation between Lithuanian institutions and allies. It is important to note that it has been carried out. a lot of invisible work is still being done not only by the team in Kabul, but also by the soldiers and civilians in Lithuania, ”says Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupšys, commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Lithuania has been carrying out the mission in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and so far it has activated NATO Article 5 for the only time in its history. In 2002-2021, about 5,000 Lithuanian soldiers served in Afghanistan, participated in the US-led Operation Peaceful Peace, and carried out two major NATO operations: the International Security Assistance Force (2002-2014) and the Strong Support Force (2015-2021).
A total of 115 translators had employment contracts with the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, some of which received Lithuanian state awards.
Last week, six citizens of this country were transferred to Lithuania from Afghanistan: an Afghan who worked as a driver at the European Union Representation in Kabul and his relatives.
Earlier, it was announced that some 100 translators who had assisted Lithuanian soldiers and their families were waiting to be deported to Lithuania, fearing that the Taliban might try to deal with them. Control of Afghanistan in mid-August, with the departure of the last American troops, was taken over by the Taliban, who occupied the capital, Kabul. Since then, getting out of Afghanistan has become difficult.
Landsbergis: There is a possibility that another group of Afghans will be transferred to Lithuania
According to Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, there is an opportunity to be transferred from Kabul airport to Lithuania by another group of Afghan translators and their relatives who have worked with the soldiers of our country.
“Now we have the confirmation of the 50 that are now on the air. We have confirmation that today there is an opportunity for another group to return safely to Lithuania, but we will confirm it later, ”the Lithuanian head of diplomacy told BNS on Tuesday.
He said he hoped that the second group of translators and their relatives would be able to move to Lithuania in the near future.
“I hope that in the near future, but as long as they do not get on the plane, we cannot confirm anything. So far, we’ve had cases where we waited at any time to take off the plane with people, but it just didn’t happen due to changes in circumstances at the airport, “said G. Landsbergis.
The Ministry of National Defense announced on Tuesday night that the first translators working with our country’s army in Afghanistan and their families, a total of 50 people, would return to Lithuania.
A plane of the Polish airlines that fly them should land at Vilnius airport on Wednesday night.
Landsbergis said these people were flying to Vilnius via Uzbekistan and Poland.
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