37 Years Since Soviet Army Withdrawal from Afghanistan Marked Today

Today, February 15, marks 37 years since the complete withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, concluding a decade-long conflict that profoundly affected the country and its people.

The Soviet military invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 under orders from the Ministry of Defense, installing Babrak Karmal as head of state shortly after the incursion.

Resistance groups, supported by countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, engaged Soviet forces, leading to intense conflict across Kabul and the countryside.

The withdrawal, completed in February 1989 with General Boris Gromov as the last soldier to leave via Hairatan Bridge, followed agreements signed between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the USSR, and the U.S. in May 1988.

The war claimed over 15,000 Soviet soldiers and more than a million Afghan civilians, leaving millions displaced and the country deeply scarred.

After the Soviet exit, Afghanistan’s leftist government under Najibullah fell three years later to mujahideen factions, triggering destructive civil wars that eventually enabled the Taliban’s first rise to power.

The Taliban, currently governing Afghanistan since 2021, have framed both the Soviet withdrawal and the later U.S.-NATO exit as historic victories, emphasizing national independence and religious resilience.

The 37th anniversary serves as a reminder of Afghanistan’s tumultuous history of occupation, the costs of war, and the enduring struggle for sovereignty and stability.

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