'We want justice and his body' — Months after Brazilian recruit's death in Kyiv, his mother pleads body to be returned home
L: Brazilian recruit Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva, 23, who died overnight in Ukraine on Dec. 28–29, 2025, in an undated photo. (Leal da Silva / Instagram) R: Leal da Silva's mother, Maria de Lourdes Santos Leal, in an undated photo. (Maria de Lourdes Santos Leal personal archive)
on GoogleThe mother of Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva, a 23-year-old Brazilian recruit whose death at a Kyiv military base in December 2025 is being investigated by police, is pleading for his body to be returned home to Brazil.
Leal da Silva died overnight on Dec. 28-29, 2025, after a group of soldiers in positions of authority took him from the sleeping area to a small room and began beating him, former fellow fighters told the Kyiv Independent in a February investigation. They reported hearing him screaming for about 40 minutes and seeing Leal da Silva's badly bruised and battered body the next morning, laid out in the snow by the room known as "the container" at the base.
Witnesses and victims formerly in what was at times a 150-to-200-strong Brazilian-led formation called Advanced Company spoke up about a pattern of abuse, including beatings, burnings, waterboarding, and instances of sexual assault with wooden objects. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said it opened an internal investigation into Advanced Company, one of the Revanche Tactical Group units under HUR's International Legion.
“Since they took his life, they should make the arrangements and send him back," Maria de Lourdes Santos Leal, his 60-year-old mother in Brazil, told the Kyiv Independent. “For the love of God, I beg them.”
"Just as they took him there (to Ukraine), they should bring him back (to Brazil)."
Leal da Silva had not yet signed a contract with Advanced Company, which confines recruits to the base and rarely allows them to leave. The former fighters with the unit said he was beaten after he returned to the base intoxicated, despite the unit's no-alcohol policy.
The Advanced Company's supervisors initially made Leal da Silva spar while wearing boxing gloves against another soldier at the base as punishment, but he was not injured at that point, several fellow soldiers said. Later, he was taken to the room known as "the container," they explained.
Advanced Company is led by Brazilian Leanderson Paulino, who is accused by about a dozen people who served under him of overseeing — and in some cases taking part in — the abuse of his subordinates.
Paulino didn’t reply to the Kyiv Independent’s requests for comments for the investigation published in February. After the story was published, Paulino called it "false news influenced by Russia or even by personal enemies" and claimed he had been "unfairly targeted." He posted a 13-minute Instagram video talking about it.
Paulino also posted Instagram stories attacking Kyiv Independent reporter Jared Goyette and Brazilian SBT correspondent Sergio Utsch, who worked together on the investigation, accusing them of "taking Russian money." In another video, he also threatened critics more broadly, saying they would be "identified" and "located" so they could be confronted in person. He repeatedly posted Goyette's photo, at one point saying, "Hang in there kid, it's just getting started."
HUR said in a March 18 response to the Kyiv Independent that the Legion's command ordered an internal probe into these threats, stressing that the Legion respects freedom of speech despite being part of a closed military intelligence service.
"The Legion maintains open, constructive interaction with journalists and does not tolerate instances of pressure on media representatives, obstruction of journalistic activities, or threats, which cannot be justified by either military status or wartime conditions," HUR said in a written response.
“All servicemen are obliged to comply with the legislation of Ukraine, the norms of military ethics, and the rules of public communication. Any manifestations of threats, pressure, or unlawful behavior toward media representatives are unacceptable and do not correspond to the principles of service.”
Utsch said he viewed Paulino's threats as especially serious because they could be read as speaking for the Ukrainian military. Utsch explained his professional credibility was not in question, pointing to his three decades as a professional journalist, including 12 years covering the war in Ukraine.
"There is a Brazilian mother who deserves an answer about what happened to her son. That is my commitment," Utsch said.
The Kyiv Independent reached out to the HUR Legion’s press service on whether it is working to send Leal da Silva’s body back to his mother and the expected timeframe, but has not heard back by the publication time. The Kyiv Independent also asked what steps the Legion takes to ensure the foreign recruits, including those who rely on medications, are being looked after and asked to react to his mother’s accusation of “luring” him into Ukraine.
'We want justice and his body'
Leal da Silva was trying to leave Ukraine, fellow fighters and his mother said. Originally from Sertania, a small town in northeastern Brazil, Leal da Silva went to Ukraine to earn money and help support her, his mother said. Work is scarce there, and many young people leave in search of jobs elsewhere. She has been a widow since her husband's deadly heart attack in 2017 and has been living on government assistance.
Leal da Silva's mother said he had no military background and was taking medication for anxiety and depression, but he trusted the Advanced Company leadership before his departure in the summer of 2025.
"He trusted them. They lured my son into going," Leal da Silva said bitterly.
"Just as they took him there (to Ukraine), they should bring him back (to Brazil)," she added, explaining that the unit covered Leal da Silva's flight ticket there since he couldn't afford it.
Ukraine has expanded recruitment in countries such as Brazil and Colombia, often drawing recruits from lower-income regions with promises of pay far above local norms. In Brazil, many recruits come from northeastern states such as Maranhão and Bahia, where official 2025 data put average monthly earnings at about $422 and $433, respectively.
Ukraine’s official foreign recruitment platform says foreign volunteers are paid at the same rate as Ukrainian troops, with pay starting only after arrival in Ukraine and the signing of a contract. A post on JoinUArmy from May 2025 said recruits receive about $490 during training and can then earn more depending on their role and where they serve, including up to $2,380 for direct participation in combat operations. The site also advertises an extra $1,670 for every full 30 days on combat missions, saying many foreign fighters can make about $4,540 a month and that front-line volunteers typically earn $3,000 to $4,500 per month.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry issued a consular alert in July 2025, urging Brazilians to refuse offers to join foreign armies and warning that they can face prosecution in Brazil for serious crimes committed abroad.
The family's plea comes after Revanche launched an internal hotline on March 4 — two weeks after the Kyiv Independent’s investigation was published — for current and former members, presenting it as a channel where they can ask questions, seek help during or after service, or speak up if they felt a "sense of injustice" or had complaints they did not know where to raise. "Don't stay alone with your problem. Reach out," the post said.
The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify the hotline's effectiveness or safety for those who use it.
Leal da Silva's aunt, Maria de Fatma Santos Leal, said the family wants his body returned to Brazil — and not just his ashes — so the family can hold a Catholic wake for him and bury him in the town where he was born and raised.
"We are poor and humble, but we have rights, thank God. We are honest people, thank God. And I want justice," she said.
Leal da Silva's mother's call for justice comes amid broader allegations from former fighters in the unit, who described Advanced Company as a place where abuse was routine.
The former fellow fighters said the abuse included beatings, burning with hot liquid, dousing with freezing water, electric shocks, whipping, waterboarding, asphyxiation with a plastic bag, restraint, sexual assault with an object, and prolonged confinement without food or water.
"That man (Paulino) should be arrested. Is he just going to get away with it?" his mother said.
Paulino claimed he had not met Leal da Silva, vowed not to "accuse or crucify my people," and said he would protect his troops rather than expose them.
Ukraine's National Police said a pre-trial investigation into Leal da Silva's death was opened on Dec. 29, 2025, and remained ongoing as of Feb. 27, with witnesses still being questioned and a forensic medical examination still underway.
Police said no one had been notified of suspicion. As the investigation continues, his mother said the family is still waiting for answers and for the chance to bring him home.
"(We want) justice and his body. Not just his bones. His body itself, so we can bury him here," his mother said.
"Let the government of Ukraine help, for the love of God."
