Adrielly Souza
SAO PAULO, SP (Folhapress) – Brazilians are viralizing in a video where they appear preparing for a mission of the Ukrainian Army. The recording, published on social networks, shows the military wearing costumes, organizing their equipment and listening to songs with lyrics of drug trafficking and crime.
Folha de S.Paulo talked to Rafael Santos, 33, one of the Brazilians who appear in the images. Born in Nova Iguaçu, in Rio de Janeiro, he is a former military army Brigade Military and since 2023 has been volunteering in Ukraine.
“Whenever we are preparing for a mission, we have a moment of relaxation listening to music. We heard funk to cheer up the troop, because it’s a moment of tension – we don’t know if it comes back, ”said Rafael. According to him, the mission recorded in the video took place in January this year.
The video released on the networks quickly gained repercussions and accumulate over 100,000 views. In the comments, the content generated reactions from followers. “Carioca as always doing bullshit, but this time international,” criticized Erivan Andrade. Others defended Brazilians. “In war, any form of distraction from suffering is welcome. If they are happy, ok, ”wrote Daniel Santos.
Rafael Santos and Ygor Jardim, another Brazilian present in the images, share their training routines and details of what it is like to be volunteer in Ukraine. In another video five days ago, the pair appears inside a car, armed while listening to funk again.
Regarding criticism of music style in the military routine, he countered: “This is pure prejudice. Many artists sing the reality in which they live, and I see no problem with that. ”
“I always wanted to act internationally. When the opportunity arose in Ukraine, which I have followed since the beginning of the war, seeing the injustices, I decided to go, ”says Rafael. He embarked alongside a group of Brazilians who met over the internet.
Currently, the military is headquartered in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, where he operates in missions, where he can stay for weeks or months. “We have a group of Brazilians only. At the moment, we are nine. Before it was twelve, but three came out because they could not stand the reality of the war, ”he said.
When asked about the repercussion of the video, he says he did not expect so much attention. “I think it viralized because of the pages they shared. But we always heard funk, it was nothing new, ”he explained. Finally, he says he is already used to the negative comments, “There are always those who defend and who criticizes. There is no way, ”he concluded.
