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UK says Russian casualties in Ukraine 20 times higher than Soviet losses in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up a communist government facing widespread insurgency.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has claimed that Russia’s battlefield losses in Ukraine are already 20 times higher than Soviet casualties during the war in Afghanistan, underscoring what she described as the catastrophic toll of Moscow’s ongoing invasion.
Speaking at a high-level UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Cooper said Russia is facing severe manpower and equipment shortages. “In this war that they started, their [Russian] losses are now 20 times higher than Soviet losses in Afghanistan. They are struggling to recruit, and in some areas, their stocks are so low they have resorted to using military equipment from the 1950s,” she said, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
The foreign secretary warned that Western allies would continue to tighten sanctions aimed at crippling Russia’s ability to finance the conflict. “We will target your ailing economy, your oil and gas revenues that are paying for this war,” she told the Russian delegation.
Cooper said falling energy revenues were already squeezing Moscow’s state budget, with oil revenues at a five-year low. “The price of war is piling up and the sanctions are tightening the screws — but we will go further. Be in no doubt,” she added.
She reaffirmed the UK’s long-term commitment to Ukraine, stressing that British support would remain “now and for decades to come.”
The remarks came during a Security Council session focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged continued international backing for Kyiv.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up a communist government facing widespread insurgency.
What followed was a decade-long conflict in which Soviet forces battled Afghan mujahideen fighters backed by the United States, Pakistan, and other countries.
The war became a costly quagmire, leaving an estimated 15,000 Soviet soldiers dead and over 50,000 wounded before Moscow’s withdrawal in 1989.
The campaign is widely seen as a factor that drained the Soviet economy and hastened the collapse of the USSR.
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Islamic Emirate’s army now self-sufficient, says chief of army staff
Mohammad Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, says that over the past four years, the army forces of the Islamic Emirate have shown no hesitation in defending and protecting Afghanistan, and that today the country’s army is standing on its own feet.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Fitrat made these remarks at a meeting with media representatives, political analysts, and a number of government officials aimed at coordination and strengthening cooperation. He added: “Nations that cannot stand on their own feet and rely on others, even if they grow, will not be capable of achieving real progress.”
Fitrat also expressed appreciation for the role of the media in ensuring security and in supporting the country’s defense forces, stating: “We and you, as citizens of this land, must put our hands together and build the country together, take pride in our forces, and strive with all our strength for the country’s development. We have created an army that defends honor, territorial integrity, and the borders of the country, and serves as the guardian of our freedom.”
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is working to establish an army equipped with modern weapons so that it can defend the country’s territory under all circumstances.
He stated that the country’s army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and that it has also been made clear to neighboring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a response several times stronger.
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Afghan health minister attends second WHO summit in India
Noor Jalal Jalali, the Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, participated in the second World Health Organization meeting on traditional medicine during his official visit to India.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health said that the meeting was held in India with the participation of representatives from around 100 countries, health ministers from 23 countries, professional experts from various nations, and officials from different departments of the World Health Organization.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the standardization of traditional medicine, training of individuals active in this field, recognition of traditional medicine as an established reality, and the sharing of countries’ experiences in this area.
The ministry stated that the purpose of participating in the conference was to standardize traditional medicine in Afghanistan, adding that for several decades this sector has been practiced in a non-standard manner and without a defined curriculum or clear principles.
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Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan boost trade and digital finance ties
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, has met with a high-level Kyrgyz delegation led by Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakhyt Sydykov to discuss expanding bilateral trade and strengthening cooperation in digital financial services.
During the meeting, Hanafi reaffirmed Afghanistan’s readiness to deepen ties with Kyrgyzstan, stressing the importance of developing electronic administration systems and modern banking channels to facilitate trade and financial transactions between the two countries.
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives. He also pointed to potential cooperation in areas such as the printing of securities and the development of electronic payment systems.
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