Russia Showcases New Arms at Drill Near Afghan Border

Service members of Tajikistan's armed forces line up during the joint military drills involving Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, at the Harb-Maidon training ground, located near the Tajik-Afghan border in the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan on Aug. 10, 2021. Didor Sadulloev/Reuters

HARB-MAIDON TRAINING GROUND, Tajikistan—Soldiers from Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan used new Russian firearms, flamethrowers, and surface-to-air missile launchers in military drills which concluded on Tuesday just 20 km (12 miles) from the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.

Moscow and its Central Asian ex-Soviet allies have held two separate sets of military exercises close to Afghanistan this month as Taliban militants overran much of the country’s northern provinces directly adjacent to Central Asia.