Abandoned Russian base holds secrets of Putin's military plans in Ukraine

When Russian troops fled the Ukrainian town of Balakliia in September, they left behind thousands of documents that detail the inner workings of the Russian war machine.

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.