Brazilian Model Turned Ukraine Soldier Dies In Russia War

A Brazilian model who joined Ukrainian forces as a sniper in the fight against Russia was killed during a missile strike in Ukraine.

Thalita do Valle, 39, was killed in the besieged city of Kharkiv on June 30 after a missile struck her bunker, the Daily Mail reported.

Do Valle's brother Theo Rodrigo Vieira said she suffocated to death after getting separated from her unit and then stuck inside the flaming bunker.

The attack also killed former Brazilian Army soldier Douglas Burigo, who returned to the site to rescue do Valle.

"There were successive attacks, and the battalion was divided. Thalita went to the bunker. There was already a fire [and] the bunker closed with her inside," Vieira said. "Her friend returned to save her in the interval between the bombing and ended up dead. She died of asphyxiation. She wasn't hit by shrapnel."

Do Valle and Burigo, 40, had traveled from Brazil to support Ukrainian forces.

Do Valle had only been in Ukraine for three weeks at the time of her death, according to her brother. She last spoke with her family on June 27 after she had just moved to Kharkiv, he said.

She explained to her family at the time that Russian drones were monitoring mobile phone activities, which limited opportunities to talk.

Prior to arriving at Kharkiv, she survived a bombing in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Do Valle worked as a model and an actress when she was younger. She also studied law and participated in animal rescues with non-government organizations.

The former model received sniper training when she joined the Peshmerga, the armed military forces of the independent Kurdistan region of Iraq, and documented her experience as a fighter against the Islamic State in Iraq in videos she posted on her YouTube channel.

She used these skills in Ukraine, where she was responsible for providing cover from advancing Russian forces.

In addition to being a sharpshooter, do Valle also worked as a rescuer, according to her brother, who described her as a hero with a vocation for saving lives and participating in humanitarian missions.

Before her death, she worked with a writer to turn her experience in Ukraine into a book.

It is unclear exactly how many foreign fighters are currently fighting in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba previously said that around 20,000 international volunteers traveled to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia's invasion.