On this day: December 24

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1979 • neutral • 6 views

Soviet Troops Enter Afghanistan, Dramatically Raising Cold War Tensions

Soviet military vehicles and paratroopers moving along a road near a dusty Afghan town in winter, with low mountains in the background and locals at a distance.

On 24 December 1979 Soviet forces intervened in Afghanistan to support the communist government, triggering global condemnation, a U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and a decade-long insurgency that intensified Cold War rivalry.

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