Russia Just Signed a Military Pact With the Taliban.
Biden Handed Moscow This Opening in August 2021. Russia Is the Only Country on Earth That Recognizes the Taliban as Afghanistan’s Legitimate Government.
On May 27, 2026, at Russia’s International Security Forum outside Moscow, Sergei Shoigu — Secretary of Russia’s Security Council and former Defense Minister — signed a formal military-technical cooperation agreement with Mohammad Yaqoob, the Taliban’s Defense Minister and the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar. It was the first formal defense agreement between the two governments.
This is the direct consequence of what the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s formal hearing record describes as “GO-TO-ZERO: Joe Biden’s Withdrawal Order and the Taliban Takeover.” In August 2021, the Biden-Harris administration executed the most chaotic military withdrawal in modern U.S. history, abandoning Bagram Air Base — the most strategically positioned military installation on Earth, less than 500 miles from China’s nuclear facilities — to 13 dead American servicemembers at Abbey Gate and a Taliban that immediately filled the vacuum. Russia has now converted that vacuum into a formal military partnership. It is the only nation in the world to have done so.
The agreement’s specific terms were not publicly released. Military-technical cooperation agreements of this type typically cover weapons transfers, manufacturing licenses, joint research and development, training, logistics, and intelligence coordination. Russia’s own FSB Director said ISIS-K is now actively recruiting from Central Asian nations and Russian labor migrants. The Taliban signed the pact with a country that is simultaneously fighting a land war in Ukraine, sending weapons to Iran, and receiving North Korean troops on its frontlines.
- July 3–4, 2025Russia recognized the Taliban — the only nation on Earth to do soPutin formally recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as Afghanistan's legitimate government on July 3, 2025. As of May 2026, Russia is the sole nation on Earth to have done so. China, Iran, and Pakistan maintain embassies but have not granted formal recognition.
- May 27, 2026Military pact signed — first formal defense agreementShoigu (Security Council Secretary) signed with Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob at Moscow's International Security Forum. Terms not publicly disclosed. First high-level Taliban summit since July 2025 recognition.
- 20–23KTerrorist fighters the Russian MFA estimates are active in AfghanistanRussian Foreign Ministry assessment (March 4, 2026): approximately 20,000–23,000 international terrorist group fighters active in Afghanistan — including ISIS-K (~3,000), TTP (~5,000–7,000), Al-Qaeda (400–1,500). Russia's own FSB Director: ISIS-K is now 'actively recruiting from among citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, as well as labour migrants in Russia.'
- Aug. 26, 2021Abbey Gate — the day Biden's withdrawal policy killed 13 AmericansISIS-K suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, Kabul airport, killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and 170+ Afghan civilians. The deadliest day for U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2012. The Biden-Harris administration's decision to abandon Bagram Air Base made the chaotic Kabul civilian evacuation through Abbey Gate necessary. Gen. Jack Keane: Biden's decision 'opened the floodgates for other global conflicts.'
- $366MRussia-Afghanistan bilateral trade — now doubled year over yearAfghanistan-Russia trade reached $366 million in the first eight months of 2024–25 — up from $174 million in the same period the prior year. Russia supplies wheat, oil products, and gas to Afghanistan at discounted rates. A 2025 deal allows annual transit of 50 million tons of Russian oil through Afghan territory.
The formal record is unambiguous. The House Foreign Affairs Committee conducted multiple oversight hearings and released formal findings documenting that “the Biden-Harris administration misled and, in some instances, directly lied to the American people at every stage of the withdrawal.” Biden’s abrupt abandonment of Bagram Air Base — done without coordination with Afghan allies, without ensuring it couldn’t be seized immediately — left a power vacuum that no alternative force was positioned to fill.
The Taliban seized control within days of the withdrawal. Russia kept its embassy open throughout the takeover — one of the very few nations to do so. Moscow had already established the “Moscow format” diplomatic dialogue with the Taliban in 2017, while U.S. forces were still fighting in-country. The U.S. departure removed the one structural impediment to Russia formalizing that relationship. In April 2025, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations — a designation dating to 2003. In July 2025, Putin became the first and only world leader to formally recognize the Taliban government.
Sergei Shoigu (Russia) — Security Council Secretary, former Defense Minister. Signed the agreement. Called on Western nations to “unfreeze blocked Afghan assets and take responsibility for their 20-year presence.” This is Shoigu seizing the diplomatic terrain Biden vacated.
Mohammad Yaqoob (Taliban) — Taliban Defense Minister. Son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar. “Afghanistan and Russia have long and historical relations. We have expanded bilateral relations. Interaction with Russia has an important meaning for us.”
Sergey Lavrov (Russia) — Russian Foreign Minister. Previously described the partnership as a “full-fledged partnership” at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Alexander Bortnikov (Russia) — FSB Director. Warned at the same May 2026 forum that ISIS-Khorasan is “now actively recruiting from among citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, as well as labour migrants in Russia” — while simultaneously signing a military pact with the government that hosts them.
“GO-TO-ZERO: Joe Biden’s Withdrawal Order and the Taliban Takeover” — the formal hearing title from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 118th Congress.
“A Failure to Plan: Examining the Biden Administration’s Preparation for the Afghanistan Withdrawal.”
“An Assessment of the Biden Administration’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan by America’s Generals.”
Gen. Jack Keane: Biden’s decision not to leave troops opened “the floodgates for other global conflicts like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Iran’s aggression against Israel.”
Abbey Gate bombing (August 26, 2021): 13 U.S. servicemembers killed, 170+ Afghan civilians killed. The deadliest day for U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2012. Result of a chaotic civilian evacuation through a non-military route that only became necessary because Bagram was abandoned.
Afghanistan as terrorist safe haven: Committee finding: “Afghanistan has become a safe haven for terrorists, giving governing space to terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, ISIS-K, and the Haqqani Network.” The Russian MFA estimated 20,000–23,000 fighters active in the country as of March 2026.
Ruslan Suleimanov (New Eurasian Strategies Center) described the deal as “symbolic formalization” rather than a “full-blown military alliance or mutual defense coalition,” noting Russia is “too economically stretched to provide free military aid to the Taliban.” Aleksei Zakhrov (Observer Research Foundation) said “Russia cannot expect any significant help from the Taliban — in terms of weapons or troops.” These are credible assessments worth including.
The counterargument: the pact’s diplomatic significance is the point. Russia is the only nation on Earth to have formally recognized the Taliban. It has now signed a defense pact with them. Whatever its immediate military weight, that is a geopolitical reality that did not exist before August 2021 — and would not exist now had the U.S. maintained a minimal troop presence, kept Bagram functional, and executed a planned withdrawal rather than a chaotic exit. Shoigu’s framing — that the West should acknowledge “responsibility for their 20-year presence” — is Moscow rubbing the Biden administration’s failure in the American public’s face.
Russia has signed a military cooperation pact with the Taliban for the first time — at Moscow's International Security Forum. Russia is the only nation on Earth to have formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government. The deal follows Biden's chaotic 2021 withdrawal that handed Moscow this diplomatic opening.
Russia and the Taliban's Defense Ministry have signed a 'military-technical cooperation' agreement at Moscow's International Security Forum — the first formal defense pact between the two governments, four years after Biden's withdrawal handed the Taliban control of Afghanistan.
Biden delivered the single-most humiliation in history with the surrender of Afghanistan.
Paraphrased commentary · not a verbatim post
Confirmed Trump's repeated characterization of Biden's August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal — sourced via multiple news outlets covering Trump's public statements. Paraphrased composite of recurring posts.
If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back… BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!
Confirmed Trump Truth Social post warning the Taliban about the return of Bagram Air Base — September 2025. Trump has repeatedly called for reclaiming Bagram as a strategic counter to China and Russia.