December 27, 1979
KGB Spetsnaz and Soviet paratroopers seize Kabul in a lightning operation; President Hafizullah Amin is assassinated at Tajbeg Palace; the Soviet 40th Army crosses the Amu Darya river into Afghanistan. The operation, codenamed Storm-333, was completed in hours — the Soviets expected quick stabilization but instead triggered a decade of catastrophic war.