A former member of Advanced Company, a Brazilian-led foreign fighter unit operating under Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), has come forward on the record to corroborate details of a recent Kyiv Independent investigation into the death of 23-year-old recruit Bruno Gabriel Leal da Silva at the unit’s base in Kyiv late last year.
Daniel Santos Reis told the Kyiv Independent the unit regularly used beatings and torture as "discipline," and that a beating preceded the death of Leal da Silva.
Reis, who said he served in an infomal leadership role under Advanced commander Leanderson Paulino, said he personally witnessed repeated "remaços" beatdowns, and that he saw at least six individuals subjected to more severe torture-style abuse over the past year. The Kyiv Independent has interviewed other witnesses who described and corroborated details of these and other incidents, and reviewed supporting photos or video related to several of the allegations.
Reis’s testimony comes after a Kyiv Independent investigation last week — based on multiple interviews with anonymous former Advanced Company fighters — exposed not only details about Leal da Silva's death, but the routine violence meted out to those under Paulino's command.
Reis said he was going public with his account and wanted to talk to investigators — despite possible threats against both himself and his family — because "the truth has to be told."
"And I believe Bruno deserves respect, and his family also deserves...
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