docs: add release branch documentation

Co-authored-by: yury-s <[email protected]>

Author: Copilot

RELEASE_BRANCHES.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Release 1.56 Branch Status
+
+## Branches Created
+
+The following branches have been created locally for the 1.56 release:
+
+1. **release-1.56**: Main release branch for version 1.56
+2. **mark-v-1.56.0**: Release marker branch for version 1.56.0
+
+Both branches are based on commit `1ec57a3` which includes:
+- Version update to 1.56.0 in all Maven POM files
+- All changes from the latest main branch
+
+## Version Updates
+
+The Maven version has been successfully updated to `1.56.0` in all POM files using the script:
+```bash
+./scripts/set_maven_version.sh 1.56.0
+```
+
+### Updated Files:
+- pom.xml
+- driver/pom.xml
+- driver-bundle/pom.xml
+- playwright/pom.xml
+- examples/pom.xml
+- tools/api-generator/pom.xml
+- tools/test-cli-fatjar/pom.xml
+- tools/test-cli-version/pom.xml
+- tools/test-local-installation/pom.xml
+- tools/test-spring-boot-starter/pom.xml
+- tools/update-docs-version/pom.xml
+
+## Verification
+
+✅ Maven validation successful
+✅ Maven compilation successful with new version
+✅ All POM files updated consistently to version 1.56.0
+
+## Next Steps
+
+To push these branches to the upstream repository, someone with push access should run:
+
+```bash
+# Push release-1.56 branch
+git push upstream release-1.56
+
+# Push mark-v-1.56.0 branch  
+git push upstream mark-v-1.56.0
+```
+
+Note: The branches are currently available in the local repository and can be pushed when needed.