KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A Russian telecom company that is currently under US sanctions has set up a 4G mobile network in Afghanistan, as Moscow continues to expand its ties with the Taliban.
According to Russian media, the St Petersburg-based firm, Protey, has installed the system in four provinces, reaching around 10 million people—around a quarter of the country’s population.
The business daily Vedomosti reported that Protey entered the Afghan market after Chinese tech companies, including Huawei and ZTE, significantly scaled back their operations following the Taliban’s return to power.
According to the report, the United States imposed sanction on Protey in 2023 due to its involvement in sectors linked to Russia’s military-industrial complex. The report noted that this is the first time the company has exported its technology outside of Russia.
The network installation comes amid Russia’s increasing engagement with the Taliban. Moscow recently removed the group from its list of banned terrorist organizations and has hosted Taliban officials at several major conferences.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently announced that Russia has officially accepted the ambassador appointed by the group to serve in Moscow.
Despite these developments, Russia continues to express concerns about security threats emanating from Afghanistan, particularly those posed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP), an affiliate of ISIS.
At a regional defense meeting last month, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov described Afghanistan as a key source of instability in Central Asia and warned that over 20 armed extremist groups with more than 15,000 militants are currently operating in the country.
