Media establish Brazilian recruit died after beating at Kyiv military unit: police investigating
The Kyiv Independent has established that a 24-year-old recruit from Brazil, Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva, died in Kyiv after a brutal beating in the foreign fighters’ unit Advanced Company. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
This was reported by Kyiv police, Censor.NET informs.
Police comment
It is noted that the incident occurred in late December 2025. Police said it was preliminarily established that the man was a volunteer undergoing military training. After one of the training stages, he allegedly felt unwell and died the next day.
A pre-trial investigation is ongoing under Part 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The body of the deceased was sent for a forensic medical examination to establish the final cause of death.
Kyiv Independent investigation into abuse
Former fighters, speaking on condition of anonymity, told journalists that Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva died on the night of 28–29 December 2025.
According to the report, the case concerns the assault company Advanced Company, headed by Brazilian national Leanderson Paulino. Several of his subordinates stated that Paulino observed the mistreatment of fighters and, in some cases, personally participated in it.
"It was a battalion that tortured people. Brutality was commonplace there," one former soldier said.
- Witnesses and victims interviewed by the Kyiv Independent described torture, including burns, beatings, suffocation with a plastic bag, mock drowning, prolonged detention without food and water, and even sexual violence involving wooden objects. Journalists also reviewed photographs showing signs of torture provided by their sources.
Reaction of the DIU and the military ombudsperson
Journalists note that the unit operates under the auspices of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and comprises 150–200 personnel. It is part of the "Revanche" tactical group of the International Legion of the DIU, commanded by Bohdan Khodakovskyi.
Ukrainian authorities confirmed da Silva’s death and stated that an investigation had been launched after his body was found on the premises of a military unit in Kyiv. The military ombudsperson reported that her office had initiated an inspection of Advanced Company. The DIU confirmed that at the time of his death, Leal da Silva was at a "temporary deployment point" of the unit and was undergoing selection prior to possible contract signing.
Former fighters who spoke to journalists said that at the time of his death, Leal da Silva had not signed a contract with Advanced Company, had attempted to leave Ukraine, and was beaten after returning to the unit’s base in Kyiv in a state of alcohol intoxication. His friends and fellow servicemen confirmed that he had no military experience and had not yet begun basic training.
According to the report, the abuses described by former soldiers of Advanced Company can be divided into three categories: "initiation-style training" that escalated into torture, spontaneous beatings for minor infractions, and torture during which soldiers were held in basements and brutally beaten or subjected to other forms of violence for several hours or days.
