US Completes Troop Withdrawal: 51% of Americans Disapprove of Biden's Actions, Ukraine Continues Evacuation

Before completing the troop withdrawal, part of the US military equipment was removed from the country, and another part was disabled.

Less than 40% of Americans approve of US President Joe Biden's actions to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Ukraine will continue evacuation even after the US troop withdrawal. Here is what you need to know. 

Poll

A national online poll showed that 51% of citizens do not approve of Biden's approach to leaving Afghanistan, while 38% approve. The poll was conducted shortly before the last US troops left Afghanistan (August 27-30). 

49% of citizens said that American military personnel should remain in Afghanistan "until all American citizens and Afghan allies have been evacuated." 25% said US troops should stay until all US citizens have been evacuated. 

Only 13% of respondents said American troops should "evacuate immediately." 

45% approved of how the Biden administration handled the evacuation of Afghan US allies, while 42% disapproved. 

20% of American adults blame Biden more than others for the current situation in Afghanistan. 10% mainly blamed former president George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of the country, and 9% blamed former president Donald Trump, who negotiated a rapid troop withdrawal in 2020. 

30% of respondents blamed many other players in the region, including the Taliban, Afghan military, US military leadership and ISIS. 

Americans, while watching the large-scale evacuation from Afghanistan, still pay more attention to issues closer to home: the pandemic and the US economy. 

The poll was conducted online in English across the entire United States. It collected responses from 1,003 adults, including 465 Democrats and 354 Republicans. 

Ukraine Will Continue Evacuation

After the withdrawal of US military personnel from Afghanistan, Ukraine is not stopping evacuation and will look for ways to bring out of the country Ukrainians and their relatives who have made such a request. Foreign Ministry press secretary told Eurointegration about this. 

Oleg Nikolenko
Foreign Ministry press secretary

Ukraine plans to continue evacuating Ukrainians from Afghanistan after August 31. At the same time, the return routes for our citizens may be adjusted depending on developments at Kabul airport. 

According to him, over the past few days the Foreign Ministry and the Ukrainian embassy in Tajikistan have received a new wave of requests for evacuation from Afghanistan. The embassy is already clarifying the details of these people, their number and their location. 

"Diplomats, together with representatives of other agencies, are developing further safe exit routes, the possibility of using other airports or ground routes. As soon as the first opportunity arises, all our citizens who have reported to the Ukrainian embassy in Tajikistan will receive instructions on further actions. An important point: any public stirring of emotions around the evacuation harms the work and creates risks both for those who want to leave and for those who want to help them. We work 24/7 and will not leave anyone to their fate," Nikolenko said. 

The Foreign Ministry recalled that 650 people have already been evacuated to Ukraine on previous evacuation flights, which is one of the highest figures among states whose citizens and partners needed evacuation. 

What the Americans Did Before Leaving

Before completing the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, part of the US military equipment was removed from the country, and another part was disabled. This was announced to journalists by Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command, according to CNN. 

"These aircraft will never fly again, and no one will be able to operate them. No one will be able to use these vehicles anymore," McKenzie said. 

The military also rendered unusable the missile defense system, artillery and mortars used to protect the airport. At Hamid Karzai International Airport, the advanced C-RAM (Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar) defense system was shut down. It had been activated a day before the withdrawal was completed, when militants fired about five rockets at the airport. 

Earlier, former US president's son Donald Trump Jr. stated that the US is leaving behind weapons and military equipment worth $85 billion in Afghanistan.