<P> Between December 25, 1979, and February 15, 1989, a total of 620,000 soldiers served with the forces in Afghanistan (though there were only 80,000--104,000 serving at one time): 525,000 in the Army, 90,000 with border troops and other KGB sub-units, 5,000 in independent formations of MVD Internal Troops, and police forces . A further 21,000 personnel were with the Soviet troop contingent over the same period doing various white collar and blue collar jobs . </P> <P> The total irrecoverable personnel losses of the Soviet Armed Forces, frontier, and internal security troops came to 14,453 . Soviet Army formations, units, and HQ elements lost 13,833, KGB sub-units lost 572, MVD formations lost 28, and other ministries and departments lost 20 men . During this period 312 servicemen were missing in action or taken prisoner; 119 were later freed, of whom 97 returned to the USSR and 22 went to other countries . </P> <P> Of the troops deployed, 53,753 were wounded, injured, or sustained concussion and 415,932 fell sick . A high proportion of casualties were those who fell ill . This was because of local climatic and sanitary conditions, which were such that acute infections spread rapidly among the troops . There were 115,308 cases of infectious hepatitis, 31,080 of typhoid fever, and 140,665 of other diseases . Of the 11,654 who were discharged from the army after being wounded, maimed, or contracting serious diseases, 10,751 men, were left disabled . </P> <P> Material losses were as follows: </P>

The war took a heavy financial toll on the soviet union during the 1980s