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History appears to be turning a full circle in Afghanistan. Decades after the Soviet Union fought a costly war there, Russia has signed its most significant defence-related agreement with Kabul since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The agreement, signed on May 27, comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Following Pakistan's military offensive in February this year, which targeted Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar, ties between the two neighbours have sunk to their lowest point in years. The US subsequently backed Islamabad's actions, describing them as Pakistan's "right to defend itself".
Against this backdrop, the Taliban leadership has increasingly looked towards Russia as a strategic partner. Moscow, for its part, has steadily expanded diplomatic and economic engagement with Kabul since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Russia later becoming the first and only nation to grant official recognition to the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.
While the full details of the agreement have not been made public, officials on both sides have described it as a framework for maintaining and restoring Soviet and Russian-made military equipment already in Afghanistan. This includes a fleet of Mi-17 helicopters that were procured by the United States and Nato to equip the former Afghan Air Force.
Soviet and Russian-origin equipment, ranging from small arms and armoured vehicles to trucks and helicopters, continues to form the backbone of the Taliban's arsenal. Much of this hardware was acquired during the Soviet-Afghan War, the civil war that followed, and the Taliban's takeover after the collapse of the US and Nato-backed Afghan republic in 2021.
The agreement was signed by Afghanistan's Defence Minister, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, and Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's Security Council, according to TOLO News.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on May 27, Mujahid expressed hope for closer ties between the two countries.
"We hope these interactions will be further strengthened. Afghanistan was involved in war for forty years and was occupied by the US for twenty years. As a result of that occupation, Afghanistan suffered extensive damage, and after the victory, the country has also faced economic and humanitarian challenges due to sanctions," he was quoted as saying by Kabul-based news outlet, TOLO News.
Russia wants to see Afghanistan emerge as a stable and independent state while supporting efforts against terrorism and narcotics trafficking, Shoigu was quoted as saying by TOLO News. "We are interested in Afghanistan becoming a united, independent, and peaceful country. We acknowledge the measures you have taken to combat terrorism and drug-related crimes on Afghan soil," he said.
Political analyst Abdul Basir Basirat told TOLO News that such agreements are important for regional stability and the protection of shared interests. "Such agreements are essential for regional security and for safeguarding shared interests," Basirat said.
RUSSIA AFGHANISTAN DEAL NOT A SECURITY OR DEFENCE PACT
Both Kabul and Moscow have claimed that the latest deal signed between them is not a security or defence pact, and is rather focussed on technical cooperation.
Speaking to reporters at Kabul Airport, Mujahid said the agreement signed with Russia is at best a technical-military cooperation agreement that will be implemented between Kabul and Moscow in the coming days.
Mujahid also stressed that Afghanistan's military modernisation efforts are intended to serve national interests and regional stability rather than threaten other countries.
"These assets require maintenance, upgrades, and oversight. Therefore, we have to reach agreements with the countries that manufactured them. Within this framework, we signed our first agreement with Russia so that we can properly utilise the Russian equipment already available in Afghanistan," Mujahid was reported as saying by TOLO News.
"Our policy is that Afghanistan poses no threat to any country in the world," he said, adding, "...These developments and advances in the military sector are intended to support regional security cooperation."
Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, said the military-technical cooperation agreement between Russia and the Taliban focusses purely on repairing and restoring Russian-made military equipment in Afghanistan, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Citing Russia's Tatar-Inform news agency, Afghanistan reported that Rustam Khabibullin, head of the Russian Trade Centre in Afghanistan, said Tatarstan could cooperate with the Taliban administration in repairing and maintaining military equipment, supplying spare parts, specialised equipment and vehicles, and restoring after-sales service and warranty centres for Russian-made hardware.
According to Khabibullin, Afghanistan currently possesses more than 100 Mi-17 helicopters in various configurations, over 30,000 KamAZ trucks, and roughly 2,000 other heavy vehicles manufactured in Russia and Tatarstan.
After the collapse of the former Afghan republic in August 2021, the Taliban took control of significant quantities of aircraft, helicopters, armoured vehicles, weapons and ammunition previously belonging to the Afghan security forces.
WHY ARE TALIBAN AND RUSSIA WORKING TOGETHER?
Both the Soviet Union's successor state, Russia, and the erstwhile USSR were adversaries of the Taliban for decades after the group's emergence in the aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. Russia even backed the Northern Alliance, which opposed the Taliban from 1996 to 2001. So why are Moscow and Kabul now working together, especially after the Taliban takeover in 2021?
The biggest factor driving engagement between Russia and the Taliban in Afghanistan are shared security concerns. Both sides have one common enemy, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the Islamic State, which is active in South and Central Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and to a certain extent in Pakistan.
On one hand, Russia is a significant target for the Islamic State. In 2024, ISKP militants attacked the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, killing 151 people and injuring more than 600.
At the same time, the Taliban also view the ISKP as a direct threat to its regime. Despite multiple efforts, the Taliban has been unable to destroy the group due to its limited counterterrorism capabilities and the various political and economic crises facing Afghanistan since the regime's takeover.
As such, Russia has been actively cooperating with the Taliban since at least 2017, including supplying weapons and intelligence to fight the ISKP. In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin labelled the Taliban as "allies in the fight against terrorism". And in 2025, four years after the Taliban stormed Kabul, Russia became the first country to formally recognise the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan.
The pact with Russia also comes as Pakistan, which has been skirmishing with the Taliban for years, is actively cosying up with the US, which culminated in the US endorsing Pakistani strikes on Afghan cities earlier this year. For the Taliban, the writing on the wall is clear. If Islamabad can get the green light from Washington to act as it wishes in Afghanistan, Kabul has no choice but to approach Moscow.
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Published On:
Jun 2, 2026 16:02 IST
