Invasion planning documents approved on Jan 18, seized paperwork confirms

The Russian troops left behind a batch of planning documents belonging to one of the units of the battalion tactical group of the 810th Separate Marines Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which states that the war with Ukraine had been approved as early as January 18, while the operation to capture Ukraine was set to last from February 20 to March 6, as seen in the said plan.

That’s according to the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"Thanks to the successful efforts of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian invaders are losing more than their hardware and manpower. In panic, they’re leaving behind classified documents. Thus, we have at our disposal the planning documents of one of the units of the battalion tactical group of the 810th separate marines brigade of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Among the documents at our disposal are an operational map, a mission order, a table of call signs, tables of control signals, tables of covert control, a personnel list, etc.," the statement reads.

As noted, based on the information received, the planning documents for the war with Ukraine had been approved on January 18, 2022, while the operation to capture Ukraine was to take place within 15 days, namely from January 20 to March 06.

The enemy unit was to disembark from the Orsk landing vessel in the area of the Stepanivka-1 settlement and further act in accord with the military units of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation, namely with the 177th Separate Marines Regiment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ultimate goal of these forces was to set up a blockade and take control of Melitopol.

The press service stressed that the statements of Russian prisoners of war claiming they had not been aware of being sent to a war and that they thought they were going for a training mission were in fact a lie.

“They did know, they had been thoroughly planning and preparing. And we will say one thing to the Russian invaders: keep leaving behind your hardware and classified documents, we will need them all, the previous will be forwarded to our defenders, and the latter – to The Hague," the press service said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, as of February 2, the Russian army has been losing an average of 1,500 servicemen per day. According to intelligence, the current losses amount to more than 7,000.

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