Three Brazilians killed in battle, who fought in Ukrainian troops, left behind stories of a past remembered by their uniformed colleagues, and memories of activities outside the “front” told by families.
The trio was part of the same detachment commanded by another Brazilian, also made up of Colombian and Spanish fighters.
The hero was returned by his colleague
Douglas Búrigo, 40, was hit by an explosion at his Kharkiv accommodation on Thursday 30 while trying to save Thalita do Valle, who was killed in the attack, and is considered a “hero” in the team.
“Douglas decided to go back. He risked his own life to save his colleague. He died a hero,” said Lieutenant Sandro Carvalho da Silva, the Brazilian commander of the platoon and survivor of the attack.
In the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, the quiet São José dos Ausentes, where Douglas lives only 3,500 people, has declared three days of mourning over his death. The mayor and vice mayor even visited his family.
In an audio recording sent to a friend, Douglas had already revealed his fear of dying while witnessing the truth on the “front line” of war. And he expressed one wish: He wanted to be buried with the Brazilian flag.
“I’m scared. A colleague of ours was shot. I don’t know if I’ll go back to Brazil alive. But if I don’t come back alive, I want the flag to go to me.”
Model and sniper against the Islamic State
Thalita do Valle, 39, was a former child actress, model and animal activist, who drowned in a bunker inside a burning house after a mortar was fired on a burning charge.
Three years ago, he enlisted as a liberator in the Kurdish army in Iraq to face ISIS, where he was a sniper. According to the family, the experience was being recorded in a book written by Thalita in partnership with an author.
“Thalita was from the women’s army. [no Iraque] and integrated a front line with snipers. His primary role was to rescue as a savior. But it also encompassed the progressives. “He was a hero and his mission was to save lives by pursuing humanitarian missions,” said Théo Rodrigo Vieira, 36, Thalita’s brother.
Born in Ribeirão Preto (SP), Thalita has lived in São Paulo since childhood. Coming from a family connected to the theater, the actor took part in children’s plays as a child. She started working as a photography model at the age of 18. However, he soon began to devote himself to animal activism.
He participated in search activities in the tragedy of Brumadinho (MG), which left 270 dead in January 2019.
Image: Personal archive
Conflict veteran in Ivory Coast
The first Brazilian to be killed in the Ukrainian war, 43-year-old fighter André Hack Bahi was shot dead in a shootout with the Russians on 5 June. Sieverodonetsk, the main battlefield in the east of the country. His body was cremated just last Saturday (2). The ashes will be taken to Ceará, where he lives with his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
While serving in the French Foreign Legion, he had scars from previous conflicts on his body. He escaped death on a mission in Ivory Coast six years ago because, according to his family, he was wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot four times in the chest, the area where it was bombed and missiles were fired.
Image: Internet reproduction
He was hurriedly rescued by helicopter, requiring a two-month hospital stay to recover from head trauma and fractures of the jaw and chest. However, this did not prevent him from joining the Ukrainian troops four months ago.
He said: ‘Mana, I want to help people. If I have to die, I will die’. And so it happened, he died in the war. My brother had this power to save lives and fight for a country. “He will live forever in my heart,” said Letícia Hack, André’s sister.
The Brazilian flag he was carrying in his backpack appeared in the hands of a so-called Chechen warrior working alongside Russian troops. You can see his signature and other volunteers in his platoon in a video posted on Twitter. The flag is the same one André showed with other Brazilian fighters in a photo that went viral months ago.
source: Noticias
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