And largely to Russias benefit.
For Moscow, the chaotic American withdrawal, while reminiscent of Russias humiliating 1989 retreat from Afghanistan after its disastrous 10-year intervention, was a propaganda victory on a global scale.
From Latin America to Eastern Europe, Russia has fought for influence by insisting that the United States cannot be trusted. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russias Security Council, warned that Americas friends in Ukraine could soon also be disappointed.
The country is headed toward collapse, and the White House at a certain moment wont even remember about its supporters in Kyiv, Mr. Patrushev said in an interview published on Thursday.
The rapid fall of President Ashraf Ghanis government was also a vindication of Russias yearslong strategy of building a diplomatic relationship with the Taliban. As Western diplomats scrambled to flee Kabul this week, Russian officials stayed put, with the Taliban guaranteeing the security of the Russian Embassy.
They made a good impression on us, Russias ambassador in Kabul, Dmitri Zhirnov, said of his embassys new Taliban guards on Russian state television this week. Theyre decent guys, well armed.
At Russias most recent round of talks with the Taliban in Moscow, in July, the group pledged that its military gains would not be a threat to Russia or its interests. Russia hosted the Taliban for multiple rounds of talks even though the group is officially classified as a banned terrorist organization with Russia, making any association with it a potential crime.
Its pragmatism and cynicism and double-think, said Arkady Dubnov, a Russian expert on Central Asia, describing the Russian governments strategy of building ties with the Taliban. People are locked up in Russia for this kind of cooperation with a terrorist organization.read more
With Collapse in Afghanistan, Russia Takes Charge in Central Asia
