Glam sniper and ex-model Thalita do Valle killed in war
Time to Read: 2 minute
Brazilian model Thalita do Valle, 39, who fought ISIS in Iraq was killed after a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv hit her position, and one other comrade was killed after he went to find her
A Brazilian model who fought against ISIS in Iraq has been killed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Thalita do Valle, 39, was also an elite sniper, was jailed as a "hero" after she was slaughtered on June 30 by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv.
Tragically, comrade Douglas Burigo, who was also from the Brazilian army, was killed after going back to a nearby bunker to find her – they were the only two members of their squadron to die.
She documented her courageous army journey on YouTube, and rose to fame with her vlogs about fighting Islamic State in Iraq.
It was during that period where she joined the elite Peshmergas forces fighting in Kurdistan.
The tragic ex-model was also a writer and was working with her former troop mate Burigo to turn the experience of fighting against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces into a book, while the talented woman was also a law student.
Before fighting in the army, she volunteered for several NGOs involved with animal rescues as well as working as a model and actress when she was younger.
Her borther, Theo Rodrigo Viera, paid tribute to her on a private Instagram account.
He called her a hero and said that she had only been out in Ukraine for just three weeks where she was mainly a “rescuer and a sharpshooter”.
She was also tasked with providing cover for locals escaping advancing Russian forces.
Shockingly, she had already survived bombing during a stay in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv and had told her family that she couldn't speak to them much as her phone activities were “being monitored by Russian drones”.
The final time she spoke to them was Monday, June 27, shortly before entering Kkarkiv.
According to several reports, Douglas Burigo had actually send a friend an audio message on WhatsApp in recent weeks to tell how scared he was, but confirmed that he would “continue defending Ukraine until the end”.
When news of theirs deaths broke overnight, tributes poured in for the pair on social media.
One user wrote: “Brave and thanks for the sacrifice - may your beautiful and pure souls guided by Valkyrie and rest peacefully in Valhalla.”
And another tweeted: “To all of his friends and family and fellow soldiers, we mourn with you.
“No words suffice, mere mourning seems so trivial for such a loss, but however we stand with you to honour his loss for such a noble cause.
“You will keep their memory and heroism alive.”