Russia Holds Military Drill In Tajikistan As Taliban Advance Threatens Central Asia Peace

Russian military helicopters based in Tajikistan have fired air-to-surface missiles in training exercises that are part of Moscow’s plan in assisting Tajik border forces to secure the Central Asian nation’s border with Afghanistan.

The drills were carried out Tuesday, one day after Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, regarding the border situation with Afghanistan.

Russia has a strong military presence in Tajikistan. It operates one of its largest military bases abroad in the country equipped with tanks, drones helicopters, and ground attack aircraft.

Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilization of 20,000 Tajik reserve forces to strengthen the border security with Afghanistan after more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across their country in response to Taliban militants’ advances.

The Tajik government later confirmed that it allowed Afghan soldiers to cross the border for humanitarian reasons, according to the report.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Russian news agency TASS that the country’s military base in Tajikistan was prepared to assist with the border situation. Prior to Rudenko's remarks, the Kremlin said in a statement that Russia "would help stabilize the border with Afghanistan if needed, both directly and through a regional security bloc."

Rudenko said Russian forces will move according to the need, but that the base was “fully equipped to provide assistance to the country.”

Around half of Afghanistan’s 400 districts have fallen in Taliban control since the militant group stepped up attacks in April, Bloomberg reported.

Over the past few days, the Taliban have advanced in most districts around the northeastern province of Badakhshan.

Due to the fighting, several consulates have reportedly been forced to shut down.

According to the Associated Press, Russian consulate in Balkh capital Mazar-e-Sharif has been closed, while Iran’s consulate limited its services in Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city.

Other consulates have since followed through, as confirmed by Balkh provincial governor spokesman Munir Farhad.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced Tuesday that more than 90 percent of American troops and equipment have been removed from Afghanistan, CNBC reported.

The goal is to completely withdraw all U.S. military presence in the country by September 11, as set by President Joe Biden.

So far, seven facilities in Afghanistan have been handed over to the country’s military, including the Bagram Air Base, which was reportedly abandoned by American troops without the knowledge of its new Afghan commander.

The base was reportedly taken over by looters for a short period of time before Afghan security personnel arrived and evicted them.