Two military cargo aircraft stranded in Kiev arrive in Türkiye

ANKARA

Two A400M military cargo aircraft of the Turkish Armed Forces, which have been stranded in Kiev since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, returned to Türkiye on Dec. 20.

“Two A400M aircraft of Türkiye, which landed in Ukraine to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate our citizens and were stranded at Borispol airport due to the closure of the airspace, departed for their home base, Kayseri,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement before their arrival.

Two Turkish aircraft arrived in Ukraine the day the war began on Feb. 24 to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate Turkish citizens are still waiting at the airport, said the Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on March 5.

Ankara had been discussing the safe return of the aircraft with both Russian and Ukrainian officials, but assurances were not made for months.

Türkiye has been mediating between Russia and Ukraine before and after the war broke out on Feb. 24 and convened the two sides’ foreign ministers and senior negotiators in Antalya and Istanbul, respectively. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed to convene Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Türkiye under his mediation, but the escalation in the war prevented it.

Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements on July 22 in Istanbul for a Black Sea corridor that cleared the way for the export of grain out of three Ukrainian ports, as well as for shipments of Russian grain and fertilizer.