Russian soldiers at war Brigade "Bermuda Triangle": Whoever lands here disappears - or dies after a few hours

Hundreds of Russian soldiers have to go to the front every day. They are often poorly trained and many do not survive for long. Here, the bereaved - and the soldiers themselves - tell their stories.

Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have lost their lives in Ukraine over the past two and a half years. The Kremlin is therefore constantly relying on new waves of recruitment. Time and again, soldiers have reported that they are being sent to the front as cannon fodder - without training or support.

Many soldiers belong to the 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade, as the Russian exile portal "Meduza" knows. The unit has a particularly high mortality rate. Many soldiers have also been missing for a long time.

Body left lying around for a year

The brigade was founded in 2014 and mainly fought in the Donbass. The brigade was then expanded in February 2022, with mainly mobilized personnel from the occupied territories joining. The brigade was then deployed around Mariupol, where casualties were high.

Igor Anistratenko (30) also went to war, as his family told "Meduza". According to the autopsy, he died on his first day at the front; the man from Belgorod was in the army for three days.

His body remained in the embattled area for over a year. Finally, his family received a phone call: they had found "a skeleton with glasses", it was Igor. His mother said that her son had suddenly been moved to the front. "His eyes were bad, not good enough for fighting. But they sent him to the front anyway - because there weren't enough people."

The soldiers' families often struggle with the situation, such as Natalya. Her brother had been drafted just a few weeks earlier - during his shift. She herself was unable to stop him, says Natalya. "It all happened very quickly, after three days he was already in Donetsk." Her brother was wounded.

With a knee injury and a shell splinter in his leg, he was then sent back to the front. He called her at some point and said: "Light a candle for me - this is a one-way ticket." He didn't say exactly where he was, the connection was cut. Natalya has not heard from him since.

Relatives of the brigade, according to those left behind, share their stories on social media. Not all of the dead can be identified. The bereaved often receive photos of the bodies.

Soldiers do not complain

The 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade is now nicknamed the "Bermuda Triangle". Anyone who ends up there disappears or dies quickly. The commanders know this too.

"They greeted us with the words 'Here's some new Russian fresh meat'," says one of the soldiers. "The atmosphere is bad. The commanders let us know that they've been at war for years. And then they tell us 'You want to earn money? Then go and fight - your family will be happy when they receive compensation for a fallen soldier'."

The soldiers are afraid to open their mouths. One soldier says that his wife complained to the local investigation committee in Russia. "The commander then came and rammed the machine gun into my ear, turning it completely blue."

Alexey Pavlov survived on the battlefield for two days. According to his sister, he received a medal for his services, "for service to the fatherland". His sister cannot believe he died. "He died in his first battle, he knew nothing about war. I just can't believe he's dead now."