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Abandoned Russian base holds secrets of retreat in Ukraine
STORY: In September 2022, Russian forces fled the Ukrainian town of Balakliia.But they left their traces everywhere. One of them is this abandoned building, which the Russians used as a military base during their occupation of Balakliia.It was here that Reuters discovered thousands of documents revealing the inner workings of the Russian military.Inside, posters reading “do not smoke, do not litter,” “if we leave, they will come.”Notebooks and loose papers showing coordinates of Russian intelligence units, records of calls from commanders, details of battles, names of men killed, equipment destroyed. And accounts of a breakdown in morale and discipline. In all, Reuters reviewed more than a thousand pages of documents.They shed new light on events leading up to one of President Vladimir Putin’s most stinging battlefield defeats: Russia’s chaotic retreat from Ukraine’s northeast in September.In early March 2022, Russian troops occupied the small riverside town of Balakliia.They took over a rundown vehicle repair complex on the outskirts of town and turned it into the command center for Balakliia and dozens of surrounding villages and farms.It was here, in the basement, that Reuters found the document cache. Documents show that in the weeks before their defeat, the Russians troops were struggling with surveillance and electronic warfare. They were using off-the-shelf drones flown by barely trained soldiers. And their equipment for jamming Ukrainian communications was often out of action. By the end of July, Russian officers were convinced Ukrainian forces were preparing a counter-offensive “to take control of Balakliia,” the documents show. The Balakliia command set about drafting in more troops.But a spreadsheet dated August 30 showed that the force was at only 71% of full strength.Another spreadsheet tracked equipment. The force had four “Fagot” anti-tank weapons systems left, down from 24.By the end of August, the force was depleted, hit by death, desertions and combat stress. To verify the authenticity of the documents, Reuters visited five abandoned military outposts in northeast Ukraine whose coordinates were recorded in the cache. In each instance, local residents confirmed that Russian forces were stationed there. We also interviewed five soldiers who served in the Balakliia force.One of them described a sense of menace hanging over the occupiers as Ukrainian strikes intensified.The Kremlin referred questions for this story to the Defence Ministry. It did not respond. Russia has said previously its military has everything it needs to fight the war.The Russian military base in Balakliia also served as a detention center for captured Ukrainian veterans.Other locals were detained at the police station, according to residents.School principal, Tetiana Tovstokora, says she was held there for several days. “They took us straight to the first floor, up these stairs. What a life. But we are undefeatable, we are Ukrainians. We will remain Ukrainians, we will remain strong.”Albina Strilets, a 33-year-old logistics coordinator for the emergency services, says she and other women were held simply for being “pro-Ukrainian.”She recalls hearing other detainees being savagely beaten and raped. ‘’To drown these sounds we opened the toilet, removed a part to let the water flow continuously so it sounded like a waterfall. This took our attention away from the horrible sounds. We did the same with the taps, we let the water run onto a plate we put under and the water flew day and night as long as there was water in the city. The sounds overshadowed the ones coming from other cells.”Russia has said its forces do not target civilians and denied allegations of brutality.Ukraine’s counter-offensive began in earnest on September 6. Four days later, Russia announced that it had abandoned Balakliia and neighboring Izium in what it called a pre-planned “regrouping” to fight in Donetsk. Weeks after the Russian retreat, all that remained of the headquarters is a giant crater and a pile of documents. An anonymous staff officer wrote reflectively in a notebook. He appears to be imagining his life in the future, in a city on the Russian border with China, more than 4,000 miles away from Balakliia.
