On 4 December 1979 Kirpichenko arrived in Kabul, in Afghanistan, with a group of officers of the Soviet Airborne Forces, having been sent by KGB chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov to plan for the removal of Hafizullah Amin, the sitting Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council of Afghanistan. He took charge of the intelligence officials in the country in preparation for Operation Storm-333, the ousting of Amin and the installation of Babrak Karmal as Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council. At a meeting at Kabul airport on 26 December 1979 Kirpichenko oversaw the inclusion of KGB reconnaissance and sabotage units with the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, with orders to direct elements of the division to key Afghan institutions, which were to be secured for the new government. The planning for the operation took place in great secrecy, with even the newly appointed Soviet ambassador, , unaware of the operation until after it had begun. Tabeyev telephoned Kirpichenko asking for explanations, but Kirpichenko replied that he was too busy at the time, but promised to report in the morning.