06-13-2016, 01:45 PM
Afghanistan was not exactly a war, and was not exactly lost 
It was the one bungled attempt a playing the same game US is playing, "peacekeeping" and "helping the oppressed". After a while it became apparent that there is no future in that, especially in the Afghan terrain, and Russia simply picked up and left, cutting its losses. Really, the only reason for that "war" was preventing NATO and the US from gaining control of Afghanistan and establishing it's military bases close to the then-Soviet borders. And that was, in fact, accomplished, as history shows, so whether it was won or lost is a big question.
CBM - private military contracting is illegal in Russia, so you would not find any legal PMC training facilities here. And do try not to refer to PMCs as mercenaries, they tend to dislike the moniker.
It was the one bungled attempt a playing the same game US is playing, "peacekeeping" and "helping the oppressed". After a while it became apparent that there is no future in that, especially in the Afghan terrain, and Russia simply picked up and left, cutting its losses. Really, the only reason for that "war" was preventing NATO and the US from gaining control of Afghanistan and establishing it's military bases close to the then-Soviet borders. And that was, in fact, accomplished, as history shows, so whether it was won or lost is a big question.CBM - private military contracting is illegal in Russia, so you would not find any legal PMC training facilities here. And do try not to refer to PMCs as mercenaries, they tend to dislike the moniker.