Afghanistan sets February 15 as Day of Soviet Defeat

Afghanistan has set February15 as the Day of Soviet Defeat, as stated by Ali Eftekhari, press secretary of the Afghan Ministry for Social Affairs, the Dead and the Disabled, RIA Novosti reports.

Russia marks the Day of Memorial of Russians Fulfilling Duty Abroad and the 23rd anniversary of withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Afghan War took place from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989. It lasted 2,238 days. The Afghan and Pakistani foreign ministers signed Geneva deals on a political settlement of Afghanistan under UN mediation in Switzerland on April 14, 1988. The Soviet Union was to withdraw troops in 9 months, starting on May 15. The US and Pakistan stopped support for the mujahiddins.

The USSR lost 14,427 troops, KGB – 576, Interior Ministry – 28. Over 53,000 people suffered concussions and wounds.

Modern Afghanistan believes that the 40th army lost hundreds of thousands in the war. Major losses followed the civil war that started in the 1990s after the Soviet withdrawal.

The Afghan Ministry for Social Affairs, the Dead and the Disabled, said that there are over 800,000 disabled, 41% of them women. Most of them were injured during the war.