Brazilian Thalita do Valle, 39, an ally of Ukrainian troops who died on Thursday afternoon (30) in a bombing in the city of Kharkiv, was an actress, model, law student, animal activist, rescuer and sniper. .
The Russian attack also killed former Brazilian Army soldier Douglas Búrigo, 40. According to reports from fighters, Douglas returned to a bunker to rescue Thalita, the only member of the troop left behind after the first bombing. There are already three cases of Brazilians killed in the Ukrainian War — André Hack died in combat in the early hours of June 5th.
Thalita was at war with the Islamic State
Thalita already had experience in previous conflicts. A rescuer and with shooting courses in Brazil, she participated in a mission against the Islamic State in Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan three years ago, according to her YouTube channel.
The experience was being recorded in a book written by Thalita in partnership with a writer, says the family.
There, she received training to become a sniper and join a group known as “peshmerga”, an expression used by Kurds to refer to fighters in their army, according to the family. She even recorded video images of conflict sites in the region, where there are mentions of the Kurdish term.
“We are on the road, on the road, going to the front,” he described in a video recorded in Iraqi territory in September 2019, while filming the region in the back of a vehicle. Once there, she said: “Guys, this is the front. That’s where the battle takes place.” Then she appeared in uniform in the region.
“She received training and took the necessary courses to go to the front lines. But when she entered the Kurdish army, she specialized in precision shooting, with long weapons. She was a heroine, and her vocation was to save lives, running after humanitarian missions”, says Théo Rodrigo Vieira, Thalita’s brother.
According to Théo, his sister’s specialty was acting as a rescuer. “The primary function is to make the rescue. But it also has the function of making the protection, providing cover for those who are advancing, as a precision shooter”, she adds.
Although he knows that his sister needed to use weapons in the conflict, Theo defines her as a “genuine progressive defender of peace”. “She took up arms just because it was a war context,” she explains.
There is also a series of videos in which Thalita appears in a military uniform in the conflict zone. The combatant had been in Ukraine for just three weeks, according to family reports.
‘She just called to let you know she was fine’
Theo says he spoke to his sister shortly before the trip to Ukraine. “She said she was going to Poland [na divisa com o território ucraniano] to act as a rescuer, helping people to leave the country at war. But soon he went to the conflict area,” he says.
After informing the family that he was in the capital Kiev, the region was bombed. Thalita did not speak to her relatives again until 48 hours after the attacks.
“When we talked on the phone, I wanted to know everything. But she said she couldn’t talk much, because cell phone activities were being monitored by Russian drones. She called just to let us know that she was fine”, explains Théo.
The last contact, he recalls, took place on the afternoon of June 27, a week ago, when Thalita had just moved to the city of Kharviv, where the bombing that killed her took place.
Child actress and youth model
Born in Ribeirão Preto (SP), Thalita moved with her family since childhood to the capital of São Paulo, where she lived until she enlisted with the Ukrainian troops.
In São Paulo, he was the protagonist of plays during his childhood. At 18, she also started working as a photo model. Thalita also worked in partnership with NGOs to defend animal rights — she was part of a group that fights in defense of pitbulls.
“Sensationalist exposure spreads fear, misinformation and prejudice, condemning them to marginalization and socially penalizing good creators,” reads an excerpt from a statement jointly written by members of the movement.
Thalita has participated in animal rescues in Brazil in recent years. He was part of a rescue team after the Samarco dam collapsed in Mariana (MG), which killed 19 people in November 2015. He was also involved in search actions in the Brumadinho (MG) tragedy, which left 270 dead in January 2019. Rescue actions were recorded in photos on his professional profile on LinkedIn.
There, the law student identified herself as a member of the Commission for the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees of the OAB-SP (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil de São Paulo). “Humanitarian aid in conflict areas around the world. Acting in remote and rubble areas,” she describes in her profile.
Mortar attacks and drone fire
Sought by UOL, the Itamaraty (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) did not comment on the report of the deaths of Douglas and Thalita until the publication of this report — the agency took four days to confirm André’s death.
Douglas’ family said they had been contacted by the Brazilian embassy in Ukraine. The information was confirmed yesterday by Lieutenant Sandro Carvalho da Silva, a Brazilian who commands the platoon.
He said he was at the scene with Douglas, Thalita and another fighter when he began a series of mortar attacks and drone fire with incendiary ammunition.
“In one of these intervals [dos ataques em série], we left the bunker and ran. But, because of the fire, Thalita didn’t come out. Douglas came back to help and couldn’t leave anymore”, he told UOL.
