Thalita do Valle, a Brazilian model and volunteer for the Ukrainian Army in the war launched by Vladimir Putin, died last Friday in a Russian bombing in the city of Járkov next to a compatriot identified as Douglas Búrigo. She was also a sniper.
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Thalita and Douglas were killed during an attack by Russian forces on the city of Kharkiv, the second largest in Ukraine. According to reports from other Brazilians who were part of the same platoon, the shelter where they were hiding was bombed and the group fled to a bunker. On the spot, however, Thalita would have suffocated to death after a fire resulting from the attackwhile Douglas would have been hit by mortars and shots, in addition to suffering burns, while trying to rescue his colleague.
He fought for my two friends who fell in the Ukraine. Thalita did logistics and provided support in the health area
“He fought for my two friends who fell in Ukraine. Thalita did logistics and provided support in the health area. Douglas Búrigo died trying to save her. The two died thinking more of their neighbor than of themselves. May God receive you in his heavenly mansion”posted on a social network Fábio Júnior de Oliveira, another Brazilian volunteer of the Ukrainian army.
Sandro Silva, another Brazilian volunteer in Ukraine, said he is leading a platoon with dozens of Latinos, including nine Brazilians. According to Sandro, Thalita and Douglas had only been in the group for a short time, but they had already “made a difference”.
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“We were in a security residence and unfortunately they attacked us. People ran to help. I went one way, Thalita went the other, but then we ended up meeting, there was a fire, and Thalita was in a bunker, with a lot of smoke, and she ended up suffocating. We managed to get her out intact, with her whole body, small burns on her hand, but she suffocated. Douglas, unfortunately, went back into the house, went after her and couldn’t get out. He was hit by a mortar, resulting in several shots and some burns. So, the two were evacuated, the two are in a morgue, the army is already taking care of that, together with the family. They will take care of the repatriation of the bodies.”he detailed.
Background in war zones
Do Valle had experience working in risk areas, whether in wars, as in Iraqi Kurdistan, or due to environmental disasters, as in Brumadinho and Petrópolis. These points were just some of those that the activist has traveled in recent years.
On social networks, he shared part of his work, such as in a video uploaded to YouTube in September 2019, in which he shows a battlefront in Iraq, from the place controlled by the peshmerga, a classification he used to identify himself in his description on TikTok. This term refers to the armed forces of the Kurds, who fought against the Islamic State, and means something like “those who face death”.
Another Thalita post, also made in September 2019, shows a moment of her interaction with Yazidi children affected by the conflict.
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Upon news of her death, friends and family fired her on social media and they remembered Thalita’s good deedssuch as their participation in the rescues in Mariana and Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais, where dams broke and a large amount of mud swept away everything in the way, and also in Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio, hit by strong rains that caused landslides and collapses of houses.
“That’s okay. Enormous in her goodness, in her beauty, always ready to fulfill her humanitarian missions, to help others, to help animals and people. There she was in Mariana, Brumadinho, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Iran, Kurdistan… and in her last mission in Ukraine. She fought the good fight until the end of her journey on Earth. Go in peace, dear, your light will never be erased from our memory, “shared a friend of the Brazilian, along with photos of the two together.
In Brumadinho, Thalita worked to rescue animals trapped in the mud. Known for acting in defense of animals, Bruno Lima, a state deputy in São Paulo, was another person who said goodbye to Thalita in a Facebook post. “We lost a great friend and protector of animals fighting in the Ukraine. Russian missiles hit the barracks where Thalita was staying in Kharkiv. She rests in peace. You have made a difference on this earth for many people and animals.”said.
It was francoriradora
In her youth, Thalita do Valle was a rescuer and had participated in a mission against the Islamic State in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which she narrated on her social networks and her YouTube channel.
There she received training to become an elite sniper. and integrate the “peshmerga”, as the Kurdish armed forces that fought against the Islamic State are known.
“He received training and took the necessary courses to go to the front line. However, when he entered the Kurdish army he specialized in precision shooting, with long weapons. Thalita was from the female army and was part of a front line with elite snipers, ”explained her brother, Théo Rodrigo Vieira, in statements collected by local media.
The government version
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death of Douglas and Thalita in a statement released on Tuesday night, in which it did not mention the names of the deceased.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received, through the Brazilian Embassy in kyiv, confirmation of the death of two Brazilian nationals in Ukrainian territory, on July 1, as a result of the conflict in that country and maintains contact with the relatives to provide them with all assistance, in accordance with current international treaties and local legislation, ”says the text.
“As it has been doing since the beginning of the conflict, Itamaraty continues to strongly discourage Brazilians from traveling to Ukraine, as long as there are insufficient security conditions in the country,” the text added.
The Globe of Brazil – GDA