Troops felt Afghanistan was to be 'maneuvers'

A Soviet lieutenant who took part in the December invasion of Afghanistan was quoted Tuesday as saying he and his men thought they were on practice maneuvers until they actually crossed the border. In an unusually candid interview, Lt. Vladislav Alexandrovich Teodorovich told a correspondent of the Communist Party newspaper Pravda, "It occurred to us then that there wouldn't be any order to turn back." Lt. Teodorovich and his battalion were stationed in eastern Afghanistan during the interview.

The lieutenant said the troops were told that "in keeping with the request of the Afghan government and in accordance with the Soviet-Afghan treaty, we were being sent to a friendly country to render assistance regarding external aggression."