A Nervy Trip to Kabul: How Ukraine Negotiated With the Taliban and Rescued 96 Afghans – NYC Times
Few countries have been willing to fly rescue missions into Afghanistan since the Americans left. Ukraine is an exception. It says it has a different definition of danger. KYIV, Ukraine — Before departing for Afghanistan, an elite team of Ukrainian troops gathered in a circle outside the airport and passed around a bottle of whiskey, a ritual meant to calm the nerves. It was early in the morning of Sept. 16, and the troops, members of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, known as the G.U.R., were about to embark on a daring plunge into the unknown: fly to Kabul and evacuate…