Афганская война 1979—1989

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan began on May 15, 1988, in accordance with the Geneva Agreements concluded on April 14, 1988 on a political settlement of the situation around the DRA. The USSR undertook to withdraw its contingent within nine months, that is, by February 15, 1989, and half of the troops were to be withdrawn within the first three months, that is, by August 15, 1988.

In the first three months, 50 thousand 183 OKSVA military personnel were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The remaining 50 thousand 100 people returned to the USSR in the period from August 15, 1988 to February 15, 1989.

At the beginning of November 1988, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was suspended due to the sharply intensified offensive actions of the Mujahideen, in particular, massive rocket attacks on Kabul. After this, in the second half of November and December 1988, the situation in Afghanistan stabilized somewhat, but the leadership of the USSR refrained from making any statements about whether the withdrawal of Soviet troops would be completed or military operations in Afghanistan would continue. In January 1989, USSR Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze visited Afghanistan.

The final decision on the complete withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was made at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee on January 25, 1989 and published the next day with the wording “The Soviet Union will remain faithful to the Geneva Agreements.” After this, USSR Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov arrived in Kabul for a visit.

The final stage of the withdrawal of troops occurred in January - the first half of February 1989. On February 15, 1989, Lieutenant General Boris Gromov, according to the official version, became the last Soviet soldier to cross the border of the two countries along the Friendship Bridge.

                                                                                     Abdullina D.M.