The fact that the United States left weapons in Afghanistan could have been provided for by an agreement with the Taliban movement (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), admits TASS columnist Dmitry Litovkin.
"I'm afraid to assume that the weapons left at the bases were not bought off for an unhindered exit from the country?" - says the author.
The observer recalls that "the Inspector General for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, John Sopko, reported a couple of months ago that from 2022 the Pentagon will stop financing the maintenance of Russian Mi-17 helicopters that are in operation by the Afghan Air Force (these machines were bought in Russia with American money 20 years ago)," although it was previously noted that American helicopters " UH-60 Black Hawk could not always perform combat missions in the climatic conditions of this country, and the Afghan pilots had no experience in their operation."
According to the author, even then Sopko "was preparing the Afghan society for the fact that the United States was curtailing support for the local army."
Litovkin is confident that the Taliban will be able to restore the military equipment abandoned by the Americans. "The danger of a big war still exists, and abandoned American weapons can play an important role in it," the author concludes.
In September, the newspaper "Mlada Front Dnes" admitted that the Taliban militants could get weapons and military equipment delivered to Afghanistan from the Czech Republic — D-30 howitzers and Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters.
Ivan Potapov
