The director of Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation stated in a Telegram statement on Wednesday that fleeing Russian soldiers left behind vital military documents that suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin had intentions to capture all of Ukraine.
The documents were recovered by Ukrainian forces while scouring the northeastern town of Trostyanets in Sumy Oblast, according to the statement.
The New York Times reports that the town of Trostyanets, some 230 miles from Kyiv, was recaptured by Ukrainian troops in late March following a month-long Russian occupation.
The director of Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, Oleksiy Sukhachev, stated in a statement that investigators discovered “important documents of soldiers of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces that give a clear understanding that Russia was preparing to seize all the territory of Ukraine.”
“All this information will be studied,” the statement continued.
Since its recapture, Ukrainian officials have investigated almost 2,000 hectares of the destroyed town, according to Sukhachev.
In addition to the documents, soldiers discovered that over 300 residential properties had been irreversibly damaged, according to Sukhachev. He stated that unexploded shells and explosives had also been discovered.
The Russian military papers appeared to validate earlier assessments by Western officials that Putin had intended to quickly take control of all of Ukraine, but had fallen short.
Russian troops, expecting to take Kyiv in days, withdrew from the capital in early April and refocused their offensive in Ukraine’s east.
Excerpt from Newsmax report:
Ukrainian soldiers also found a number of unexploded shells and bombs, and saw that more than 300 residential buildings had been permanently damaged, Sukhachev said.
The Telegram post said investigators found places where Russian soldiers tortured civilians.
“At least 34 cases of unlawful deprivation of liberty and torture of civilians have been reported,” the post said. “Batons, handcuffs, metal ticks and clothes of the victims with traces of blood were found at the crime scene.
“Among other things, 29 site inspections were conducted, the bodies of 23 victims, including two children, were exhumed.”
Although Kremlin officials and many outsiders expected Putin’s forces to seize Kyiv within days after beginning their attack Feb. 24, Russia retreated from the capital in early April and refocused their offensive in Ukraine’s eastern region.