Russia paid the Taliban $200,000 for each killed American soldier
9 January 2025 09:39
The Russian intelligence service GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) financed terrorist attacks against the US military and coalition forces in Afghanistan. This is stated in an investigation by The Insider and Der Spiegel, according to "Komersant Ukrainian". The journalists managed to identify specific GRU officers who led this operation.
According to former Afghan intelligence officers, Russia paid an average of $200,000 for each killed American soldier. In total, at least $3 million was spent on financing the attacks, not counting individual payments to other groups.
The main organizer of the scheme was Lieutenant General Ivan Kasyanenko, deputy commander of GRU unit 29155. The key liaison with the Taliban was Colonel Aleksei Arkhipov, who used a passport in the name of Aleksei Titov.
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To transfer money to the militants, Russian special services created a network of Afghan couriers under the guise of a gemstone trading company. The main coordinator of this network was an Afghan, Rahmatullah Azizi, who later received Russian citizenship and a passport from a series reserved for GRU officers.
The goal of the Russian-funded terrorist attacks was to put pressure on the United States and coalition countries to force them to withdraw from Afghanistan. This was achieved – in 2020, President Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban on a phased withdrawal of troops.
Although U.S. intelligence had information about Russia’s terrorist financing program, the official investigation was hampered. According to a former CIA officer, the reluctance to unequivocally accuse Russia was due to “a lack of priority, perhaps even courage.”
After the Taliban seized power in 2021, the GRU continued to cooperate with them officially. According to documents uncovered by journalists, the Taliban turned to the GRU for help in supplying stolen helicopters and airplanes, training security personnel, and rebuilding defense capabilities.
The investigation is based on testimony from former Afghan intelligence officers, documents from the emails of GRU officers, and other materials.
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