The total of 620 thousand Soviet soldiers had served on the territory of Afghanistan from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989. These numbers included 525.2 thousand soldiers of the limited contingent of Soviet troops, around 90 thousand ones in Border troops and other KGB units, about 5 thousand people in the Ministry of internal affairs. Additionally, there were 21 thousand people who were employed as workers and public servants in the Soviet forces.
When making the decision to deploy the troops in Afghanistan, the USSR government did not take the following factors into account: difficult geographical and climate conditions of the mountainous desert area; lack of perfect communication among the military units in the situation of the local conflict; problems with establishing radio communication when planning operations; guerrilla tactics of the gangs using sabotage and mine warfare methods.
When making the decision to deploy the troops in Afghanistan, the USSR government did not take the following factors into account: difficult geographical and climate conditions of the mountainous desert area; lack of perfect communication among the military units in the situation of the local conflict; problems with establishing radio communication when planning operations; guerrilla tactics of the gangs using sabotage and mine warfare methods.
