Monday, November 29, 2021

Soviet Lists Afghan War Toll: 13,310 Dead, 35,478 Wounded

The Soviet Union, ending a long silence about the exact number of its casualties in the war in Afghanistan, said today that 13,310 soldiers had been killed, 35,478 wounded and 311 are missing.

At the same time, the Government said continued aid by Pakistan to the Afghan guerrillas was unacceptable now that Soviet troops have begun to return home, and warned that Moscow might reconsider its options if the assistance does not stop.

The number of troops killed was slightly higher than the United States had estimated. Washington had put the number of Soviet casualties in the eight and a half years of war at 33,000 to 38,000, a third of them fatalities.

Moscow has never made public the number of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and officials again declined to do so today. The United States has estimated that the number has been about 115,000 since Soviet forces entered Afghanistan in late 1979. Losses Are 'Quite Heavy'

The casualty figures, as of May 1, were disclosed at a news conference today by Gen. Aleksei D. Lizichev, head of a Defense Ministry department that oversees Communist Party interests in the army and navy.

''We are aware of our losses, and these losses have been quite heavy,'' General Lizichev said. He reported that most of the 311 soldiers listed as missing in action were believed to have been captured by guerrillas or to have deserted.

The general's information was broadcast later on the main television news, and the numbers were also printed in the Moscow News.

The disclosures appeared to be partly timed to the arrival in Moscow of hundreds of foreigners sent to report on President Reagan's visit next week. It also seemed consistent with recent efforts to deal more openly with the painful experience in Afghanistan.

At a press briefing last week, an official of the Novosti Press Agency, Eduard Rozental, told reporters that a Western estimate that 12,000 to 15,000 Soviet soldiers had died in Afghanistan, was ''more or less correct.''

General Lizichev said that 9,500 soldiers and 1,000 pieces of military equipment have returned to the Soviet Union as of today. Warning About Pakistani Aid

A Deputy Foreign Minister, Yuli M. Vorontsov, said at the same briefing that Moscow was concerned about continued aid he said Pakistan was giving to the Afghan guerrillas.

''If the Pakistani side fails to abide by the Geneva agreements, we will react as will be required by the circumstances,'' Mr. Vorontsov said. He declined to be more specific.

Soviet troops began to withdraw from positions in Afghanistan on May 15 under the terms of an international agreement signed in Geneva last month that calls for the removal of half the Soviet forces by Aug. 15 and a completed withdrawal by Feb. 15.

Among other things, the agreements call for Pakistan to end any interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Pakistan has served as the main conduit of Western aid to the guerrillas and a staging area for insurgent units.

At United States insistence, Moscow and Washington agreed that American aid to the guerrillas could continue at a level commensurate with Soviet military aid to the Afghan Government.

The understanding, according to Western diplomats, may become a source of tension if Moscow insists that Pakistan, regardless of American intentions to aid the guerrillas, cannot funnel the assistance into Afghanistan.

Western diplomats familiar with the Soviet-American dialogue about Afghanistan said it was unclear how far Moscow intended to press the point. They said the Soviet leader, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, may raise the issue when he meets here with President Reagan.

A version of this article appears in print on May 26, 1988, Section A, Page 14 of the National edition with the headline: Soviet Lists Afghan War Toll: 13,310 Dead, 35,478 Wounded.

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