<Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Soviet--Afghan War </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Part of the Wars in Afghanistan and the Cold War </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Mujahideen fighters in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan in 1987 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Date </Th> <Td> December 24, 1979--February 15, 1989 (9 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Location </Th> <Td> Afghanistan </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Result </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Soviet failure to quell the Afghan mujahideen insurgency </Li> <Li> Geneva Accord (1988) </Li> <Li> Withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan </Li> <Li> Continuation of the Afghan Civil War </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Belligerents </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <P> Soviet Union </P> <Ul> <Li> 40th Army </Li> </Ul> Democratic Republic of Afghanistan </Td> <Td> <P> Sunni Mujahideen: </P> <Ul> <Li> Jamiat - e Islami <Ul> <Li> Shura - e Nazar </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Gulbuddin faction <Ul> <Li> Maktab al - Khadamat </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Khalis faction </Li> <Li> Ittehad i - Islami </Li> <Li> IRM </Li> <Li> NLF </Li> <Li> NIFA </Li> </Ul> Supported by: (show) <Ul> <Li> Pakistan </Li> <Li> United States </Li> <Li> United Kingdom </Li> <Li> Saudi Arabia </Li> <Li> China </Li> <Li> West Germany </Li> </Ul> <P> Shia Mujahideen: </P> <Ul> <Li> Harakat i - Islami </Li> <Li> Afghan Hezbollah </Li> <Li> Nasr Party (IVOA) </Li> <Li> COIRGA </Li> <Li> Shura Party </Li> <Li> IRM </Li> <Li> UOIF </Li> <Li> Raad Party </Li> </Ul> <P> Supported by: </P> <Ul> <Li> Iran </Li> </Ul> <P> Maoist factions: </P> <Ul> <Li> ALO </Li> <Li> SAMA </Li> <Li> AMFFF </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Commanders and leaders </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Leonid Brezhnev </Li> <Li> Yuri Andropov </Li> <Li> Konstantin Chernenko </Li> <Li> Mikhail Gorbachev </Li> <Li> Dmitriy Ustinov </Li> <Li> Sergei Sokolov </Li> <Li> Dmitriy Yazov </Li> <Li> Valentin Varennikov </Li> <Li> Igor Rodionov </Li> <Li> Boris Gromov </Li> <Li> Babrak Karmal </Li> <Li> Mohammad Najibullah </Li> <Li> Abdul Rashid Dostum </Li> <Li> Abdul Qadir </Li> <Li> Shahnawaz Tanai </Li> <Li> Mohammed Rafie </Li> </Ul> </Td> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Ahmad Shah Massoud </Li> <Li> Abdul Haq </Li> <Li> Abdullah Azzam </Li> <Li> Ismail Khan </Li> <Li> Gulbuddin Hekmatyar </Li> <Li> Jalaluddin Haqqani </Li> <Li> Mohammad Nabi </Li> <Li> Naqib Alikozai </Li> <Li> Abdul Rahim Wardak </Li> <Li> Fazal Haq Mujahid </Li> <Li> Burhanuddin Rabbani </Li> <Li> Michael G. Vickers </Li> </Ul> <Ul> <Li> Muhammad Asif Muhsini </Li> <Li> Assef Kandahari </Li> <Li> Sayeed Ali Begeshti </Li> <Li> Mosbah Sade </Li> </Ul> Mulavi Dawood (AMFFF) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Strength </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <P> Soviet forces: </P> <Ul> <Li> 620,000 total </Li> <Li> 115,000 at peak </Li> </Ul> <P> Afghan forces: </P> <Ul> <Li> 55,000 </Li> </Ul> </Td> <Td> <P> Mujahideen: </P> 200,000--250,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Casualties and losses </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Soviet forces: <Ul> <Li> 14,453 killed (total) <Ul> <Li> 9,500 killed in combat </Li> <Li> 4,000 died from wounds </Li> <Li> 1,000 died from disease and accidents </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 53,753 wounded </Li> <Li> 264 missing </Li> <Li> 451 aircraft (including 333 helicopters) </Li> <Li> 147 tanks </Li> <Li> 1,314 IFV / APCs </Li> <Li> 433 artillery guns and mortars </Li> <Li> 11,369 cargo and fuel tanker trucks </Li> </Ul> Afghan forces: <Ul> <Li> 18,000 killed </Li> </Ul> </Td> <Td> Mujahideen: <Ul> <Li> 75,000--90,000 killed </Li> <Li> 75,000 + wounded (tentative estimate) </Li> </Ul> Pakistan: <Ul> <Li> 300 + killed </Li> <Li> 1 F - 16 fighter jet shot down </Li> </Ul> Iran: <Ul> <Li> 2 AH - 1J helicopters shot down </Li> <Li> Unknown number killed </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Civilians (Afghan): <Ul> <Li> 562,000--2,000,000 killed </Li> <Li> 5 million refugees outside Afghanistan </Li> <Li> 2 million internally displaced persons </Li> <Li> Around 3 million Afghans wounded (mostly civilians) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Soviet--Afghan War </Th> </Tr>

How long was the soviet union in afghanistan
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