The U.S. operation on evacuating people from Kabul airport was "an extraordinary success." This opinion was expressed by U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday following the completion of this operation.
The U.S. president stressed that the success of the mission in Afghanistan was enabled by U.S. military personnel, diplomats and reconnaissance specialists who "risked their lives to get American citizens, Afghans and our allies onboard planes and out of the country."
The head of state noted that the U.S. ended its longest foreign military campaign. "We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history," he said. "No nation has ever done anything like it in all of history; only the United States had the capacity and the will and ability to do it," the U.S. president added, noting that over 120,000 people were evacuated to safety. According to Biden, this number is more than double than what the majority of experts thought possible.
After the Biden administration announced the end of U.S. military operation in Afghanistan and the pullout of troops, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours.
