Ukraine suffocated in a bunker fire after Russian bombing. Initial reports indicated that courageous Thalita do Valle, 39, died in the city of Kharkiv last Thursday (June 30) as Russian bombers targeted the battalion she was with.Subsequent reports have suggested the time and location may have been different. READ MORE: 'Hero' glam sniper and ex-model killed by Russian forces fighting in UkraineFriend and fellow Brazilian Douglas Burigo, 40, is thought to have died trying to save the former model.
Thalita's family confirmed the tragic passing yesterday (Tuesday, July 5). Her brother, Theo Rodrigo Vieira, was given the news by the Ukrainian Foreign Legion on Sunday (July 3).
He said: "We were notified of everything that happened. There were successive attacks and the battalion was divided."Thalita went to the bunker and there was already a fire with the bunker closed with her inside."Her friend [Douglas] returned to save her in the interval between the bombing and ended up dead.
She died of asphyxiation, she wasn't hit by shrapnel."Thalita travelled to Ukraine three weeks ago having lived in São Paulo for 30 years before that.Theo explained that, as she was a keen humanitarian, her trip to Eastern Europe following Vladimir Putin's invasion wasn't unusual.He revealed: "Thalita has always been involved in humanitarian missions with the foreign legion of some country or here in Brazil. "She was always moved by the feeling of saving animals and humans."My sister was always peaceful, a genuine progressive.
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