Hundreds of people in Brazil have allegedly expressed interest in traveling to Ukraine to help the nation’s army fight its latest war against Russia, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Monday.
“[H]undreds of Brazilians have taken steps to go fight in Ukraine,” AFP claimed on March 28.
The news agency cited the existence of online forums for Brazilians interested in fighting for Ukraine as evidence that people had “taken steps” to volunteer with the country’s armed forces.
“[W]ebpages set up for Brazilians rallying to the cause have hundreds of members, such as Portuguese-language Facebook group ‘Volunteers to Fight in Ukraine,’ with 1,800,” AFP observed.
While the actual number of Brazilians who have taken concrete action to fight in Ukraine since Russia’s military invasion on February 24 remains unknown, AFP interviewed three men from Brazil who had done so.
A 35-year-old policeman from Sao Paulo, identified only by his first name, Saulo, told the news agency he “quit his job as a military police officer to travel … and join Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.”
“Saulo … left Wednesday [March 23] for Poland, where Brazilians already on the ground have promised to help him join the war,” according to AFP.
Former Brazilian military police officer Saulo, packs his bag with essential belongings to go fight in Ukraine, during an interview with AFP, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 17, 2022. – Saulo, who wants to “help avoid World War Three,” quit his job as a military police officer to head off to Ukraine and join its fight against Russia’s invasion. “I identify with the cause, with the Ukrainian people who are suffering the injustice of a foreign aggressor,” said Saulo, who asked his last name not be used for security reasons.
A Brazilian military veteran named Leandro Galvao was living in Estonia when he allegedly decided to leave the Baltic state and travel to Ukraine sometime after February 24 to assist the nation’s army.
Galvao, 49, told AFP he was “already on the ground in the suburbs of Kyiv, where he carries out patrol and civilian rescue operations alongside the Ukrainian army.”
A 29-year-old Brazilian national referred to by AFP as Guilherme said he intended to join Ukraine’s army but was still in Brazil when interviewed. The man said he had previously served in both the Brazilian Army and the French Foreign Legion before taking a job as a private security guard in Rio de Janeiro. Now unemployed, Guilherme said he hoped to capitalize on his military training and saw helping in Ukraine as an “opportunity” that doesn’t exist for him in Rio, explaining, “Things are hard here in Brazil.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 27 announced the Ukrainian military was working to develop an “international” legion. Zelensky said his government hoped the legion’s existence would help recruit foreigners to Ukraine willing to assist the nation’s army in its war against Russia.
“Everyone who wants to join the defence of security in Europe and the world may come and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians against the invaders of the 21st Century,” Zelensky said, as quoted by his official website.
Ukraine’s government temporarily dropped its visa requirements in support of the international legion project, the BBC reported on March 16. Kyiv has additionally offered “equipment and a salary to those with a valid passport and military training,” according to the British broadcaster.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it “emphatically discourages” people from traveling to Ukraine given the nation’s “security situation,” AFP noted on March 28.
Brazil joins several nations worldwide, including South Korea and Nigeria, whose foreign ministries have either discouraged or forbidden their nationals from traveling to war-torn Ukraine since February.
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