Russia’s foreign military intelligence service (GRU) financed attacks against US and foreign coalition troops in Afghanistan between 2015 and 2020according to . Apparently, GRU Unit 29155, known for its covert operations and acts of destabilization, was behind this campaign.
The Russian investigative media specifies that this unit, also linked to the failed Novichok attack against former Russian spy Sergey Skripal in 2018, used at least three networks of Afghan couriers to deliver cash rewards to the Taliban and other armed militant groups.
These rewards were offered for military assassinations successfulwith payments that averaged $200,000 for every US or coalition soldier killedand smaller sums for attacks launched against Afghan troops and security guards.
Anonymous sources from the National Directorate of Security of Afghanistan (NDS) cited by The Insider point out that The GRU allocated around 30 million dollars to this program. An NDS official calls the sum “small” to achieve the goal of “making a fool of the United States.” Additionally, the couriers who delivered the payments were granted asylum in Russia after completing their missions.
Program leaders and logistics
The research also identifies the main responsible of the program. The lieutenant general Ivan Kasianenkodeputy commander of Unit 29155, supervised the operations, while GRU colonel Alexey Arkhipov He managed the relationship with the Taliban. For its part, Rahmatullah Azizian Afghan smuggler, led the most active courier network. Azizi established a gemstone trading company registered in Moscow as a front to channel payments.
A former NDS official claims that his investigation about the GRU program, which had led to the arrest of a dozen members of the Azizi network, was seen hampered by the Afghan government for undisclosed reasons, “possibly due to corruption and other interests aligned with Russia.”
