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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Arpan Rai

Russia has signed a military pact with the Taliban. Could its fighters start turning up in Ukraine?

Afghanistan’s foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov meet in Moscow in October 2025 - (AFP/Getty)

Russia has signed an agreement to increase its military cooperation with the Taliban, deepening its ties to the hardline Islamist group and enshrining its outlier status as the only country in the world to recognise its regime in Afghanistan.

The deal was ratified at an event in Moscow dubbed the “International Security Forum”, hosted by Russia and attended by the Taliban’s defence minister and senior leader Mohammad Yaqoob on Wednesday.

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