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The implicit bonuses encouraged fighters to attack international forces, and United States President Donald Trump is currently trying to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war.
The newspaper, citing unidentified officials, said Trump had been briefed on the findings in the fight, but had not decided how to react.
The report says the militants may have withdrawn the benefits, but it is unclear what specific killings of US troops may be linked to the plan.
The New York Times quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying Russia was unaware of the allegations.
The history of Russia’s interests in Afghanistan is complex. During the last years of its existence, the Soviet Union engaged in a devastating war with Islamist militants backed by Washington at the time.
But recently, Washington has accused Russia of secretly supplying small arms to the Taliban.
The New York Times writes that there are several theories as to why Russia could support the Taliban attacks. One of them may be the desire to keep the United States caught up in this war.
Furthermore, Russian intelligence may retaliate against Russian mercenaries killed in the actions of US forces in Syria, where Moscow supports President Bashar al-Assad.
The publication writes that the Taliban operation was led by Russia’s military intelligence service GRU, accused of a series of international incidents, including a 2018 attempt in the UK to poison Russian-born double agent Sergei Skripal using a chemical from combat.
US intelligence concluded that Russia was interfering in the 2016 US presidential election in favor of Trump, among other things, in an effort to manipulate social media.
Trump dismissed the allegations and sought better ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, although his administration tightened sanctions over Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
Russia on Saturday condemned statements by The New York Times that Russian agents had offered compensation to Taliban-linked fighters for killing US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan as “unreasonable” and dangerous.
“The anonymous and unfounded allegations in the newspaper have already posed a direct threat to the lives of the staff of the Russian embassy in Washington and London,” the Russian embassy in Washington wrote on Twitter.
“@Nytimes, stop creating fake, life-threatening news,” he added in a later Twitter post.
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