Intelligence Agency, MFA evacuate 31 Ukrainian citizens from Iran
The Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the final stage of a comprehensive operation to rescue Ukrainian citizens, evacuated 31 Ukrainian citizens from the territory of Iran, including 14 children.
"On June 24, 2025, on the instructions of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, successfully evacuated 31 Ukrainian citizens from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Among the evacuees were five men, 12 women and 14 children," the agency said in Telegram channel on Tuesday.
It is reported that the evacuation was carried out in transit through the territory of Azerbaijan to Moldova. Currently, all evacuees are heading to Kyiv.
"This is the final stage of a comprehensive operation of the Main Intelligence Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in Israel and Iran to rescue Ukrainian citizens from high-risk zones," the agency said.
The day before, as part of a separate operation, 176 people were evacuated from the territory of Israel, 133 of whom were Ukrainian citizens.
"The whole time in Tehran, we felt completely unprotected, because there were never any warning sirens. In addition, the Internet disappeared and we did not understand what was happening at all. We are very grateful to the Ukrainian consulate in Tehran, which constantly kept in touch with us. I know that there is also a war in Ukraine, but our country does not leave people to their fate," evacuee Varvara from Kyiv region said.
"When the shelling started, it was even scarier than in Ukraine. When they said there was an opportunity to leave, we went to the north of the country, where Ukrainians from different cities of Iran were gathering. We are grateful to everyone who made the effort. We are finally returning to Ukraine," Natalia said.
"We express our gratitude to the official representatives of the Republic of Moldova, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Azerbaijan Yuriy Husev, as well as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk for their assistance in carrying out the operation. We also thank SkyUp Airlines for their systematic assistance in carrying out evacuation missions," the agency said.
