AFU eliminate Russian deputy commander, find evidence of invasion preparations 

An officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Anatoliy Shtefan (nickname Stirlitz) reported this information on Telegram.

"The deputy commander of the company for educational work of the 37th separate motorized rifle brigade, Major Pavel Yuryanov, was successfully demobilized," the officer writes.

Shtirlitz also refers to the material of the Belarusian publication Flagpole, which has in possession the phone with the major's correspondence.

On December 23, 2021, Yuryanov wrote to his wife that he would no longer have days off. Thus, the authors of the publication conclude that the occupiers knew about Russia’s plans to attack Ukraine as early as last year.

Messages translation:

• Just know that I have always loved and always will. Forgive me for everything.

• I’ve arranged to see Lyuba tomorrow evening. Do you have a day off on Saturday?

• No, most probably there will be no more days off going forward. I’ll write tomorrow, maybe, there will be no need anymore.

The Russian army was poorly supplied with material and technical equipment for the offensive. The publication claims this judging by the fact that Yuryanov's wife was the one to buy him a jacket and a Chinese radio station before the departure.

Messages translation:

• *Photos of jackets and a radio station*

• Yes, that one.

• Do you need a power bank?

• No, I have one. Don’t buy anything more today.

Before the start of the war, Pavel Yuryanov was engaged in preparing and conducting patriotic lectures for the military. Among the topics he organized on the way to Belarus: "The armed forces of the Russian Federation on the front lines of the fight against international terrorism. Extremism and terrorism as a threat to the national security of Russia", "Patriotism is a statutory and moral duty of a military serviceman."

Echelons with Russian military arrived in Belarus at the end of January. The authors of the publication, analyzing the photos, assume that the military was initially stationed in the Rechitsia district. The major probably knew that these were not just ordinary training. On February 4, he wrote to his wife, "God willing, we will see each other again." From that day on, he made no secret of the fact that he might never return home.

Messages translation:

I love you, my Dears. I’m sorry it has come to this.

It is what it is, but that’s okay, maybe, i’ll survive.

I understood, of course. God willing, we will see each other again.

The publication emphasizes: there is evidence in Yuryanov's phone that Belarus is providing its territories to assist Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

"On February 6, in the Telegram chat "On the barricades", the ciphers of the negotiation table were published, which contained the names of settlements in the Gomel region: the Borshkovka training ground, the Baranovichi training ground, Rechitsia, Byazueve (presumably Byazuev, a village near Rechitsia, where from January to February, 2022, Russian military camp was located)", the message says.