President Biden told Americans that Putin has made up his mind. He will invade Ukraine, according to the President.
If Putin invades Ukraine, it would be the Soviet/Afghan War all over again, and with it, the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In April 2005, Putin said the Soviet collapse was a tragedy for Russians.
“First and foremost it is worth acknowledging that the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” Putin said. “As for the Russian people, it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.
“The epidemic of collapse has spilled over to Russia itself,” he said.
The Afghan fighting force was puny compared to the Ukrainian army, second in size in Europe to Russia's army.
The
Soviet–Afghan War was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the
Mujahideen fought a nine-year
guerrilla war against the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) and the
Soviet Army. Eventually the Soviet army had to withdraw in defeat.
The war was costly in bodies and cash, largely bankrupting the Soviet Union. Western sanctions contributed to the bankruptcy. Two years later the Soviet Union collapsed.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was one of the biggest historic events of Twentieth Century. The occupation of Afghanistan caused irreversible internal conflicts between the Soviet republics and the Soviet government.
“First and foremost it is worth acknowledging that the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
Will Putin cause Russia to make the same mistake again?
Despite the words of our President, there are serious doubts.