In October 2022, Russia sent marines from the elite 155th Marine Brigade to take the town of Vuhledar in Ukraine. Ramaz Gorgadze, a young aspiring TikTok rapper, was among them. Before the assault, he sent a last message to his mother, and then went missing.

Days later, a rare protest letter from the Black Beret marines emerged online. The men claimed that 'inept' commanders threw them into an 'incomprehensible offensive' which cost them 300 men in just four days. They also wrote that the commanders called them 'meat.'

Using only publicly available footage and testimonies, BBC Eye follows Ramaz’s journey from his hometown in Russia’s far east region to Ukraine’s battlefield. We find evidence that glaring tactical mistakes cost young Russian marines their lives and that their warnings were repeatedly ignored.

We tell the story of Ramaz mother’s search for her son, which highlights the discord between official narratives and the realities of the war. We also meet Marina, a Vuhledar resident, who asks why men like Ramaz invaded her hometown. Show less