BJJ brown belt champion Maxuel Vukapanavo from Brazil who has competed and trained all over the world, is one of hundreds of Brazilians who have joined the Ukrainian foreign legion in the war with Russia. He has been training Jiu-Jitsu for 10 years and has won numerous titles at IBJJF Miami Open, Spanish Open, Paris and in Brazil.
Vukapanovo has posted his adventures on instagram:
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Competing in Spain:
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The Ukrainian Foreign Legion was created on 27 February 2022 by the Ukrainian government at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fight against the Russian invasion of the country.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that by 6 March 2022 more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries had enlisted to fight for Ukraine; several thousand more reportedly joined after the announcement. Kuleba withheld further demographic details, because several nations forbid their citizens from fighting for foreign governments.
As of 6 March, about 500 Brazilians are mobilizing on WhatsApp, Telegram and social networks groups to enlist. The Embassy of Ukraine in Brazil said that “it is not enlisting for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion” or “campaigning to join this military formation”. The costs are up to US$1,5 thousand per person, including air tickets and documentation. There are over 600,000 people of Ukrainian descent living in Brazil.
As of July 6, three Brazilian volunteers were killed fighting in Ukraine. André Hack Bahi was killed on June 4 while helping fellow volunteers escape during fighting in the Luhansk region. Thalita do Valle, a female model and ex-Kurdish Pershmerga volunteer was killed in Kharkiv on June 30 during an attack on a Ukrainian bunker, which also resulted in the death of Douglas Búrigo when he tried to look for her since she didn’t evacuate from the bunker in time. Brazilian diplomats confirmed the reports on July 5.
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