The Taliban on Wednesday seized Afghanistan’s borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as the designated terrorist group continues its blistering offensive in the wake of the United States pulling out of the country, according to Russia’s minister of defense, Sergei Shoigu. Shoigu told Russia’s Kommersant daily newspaper that the group has control of Afghanistan’s northern border. Shoigu said the Taliban has told Russian officials that they won’t cross the border into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but he said Russia would continue to hold joint military drills with allies in the area. Russian, Uzbek, and Tajik troops held exercises in Tajikistan on Tuesday near its border with Afghanistan, perhaps in a show of force against the terrorist group. The Russian military confirmed that the military maneuvers took place “against the background of the destabilization of the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, in order to work out the issues of repelling possible threats and practical interaction …