In dramatic footage that has rapidly gone viral, a Brazilian volunteer captured the exact instant a Russian attack hit the building where he was staying in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Lucas Cândido, a former Brazilian military paratrooper who has been operating as a volunteer alongside Ukrainian forces, was filming inside an apartment when air-raid sirens had already sounded. The video, shared widely on social media, shows him speaking to the camera in a room with curtains drawn before the sudden, violent interruption of an explosion close by.
The blast, attributed by the group and Brazilian media reports to a Russian missile or drone strike, partially destroyed the apartment, leaving visible damage, debris and structural disruption. Footage later shows the chaotic aftermath outdoors at night: smoke rising, fires glowing against damaged buildings, and emergency lights cutting through the darkness as responders moved through the street.
Cândido was not alone. He was with four other Brazilian volunteers, including men identified as Thiago and Gabriel. According to reports from CNN Brasil and other Brazilian outlets, none of the five suffered serious injuries, though Gabriel later posted that colleagues had been hurt, that his own leg was injured, and that the group was “okay, thank God.” He added a pointed remark: “Unfortunately, Russia is like that, cowardly.”
The volunteers relocated to another nearby location after the strike. The incident occurred amid a broader wave of Russian attacks on Kharkiv on 12–13 October that, according to Ukrainian authorities, killed at least three people and injured dozens more, damaging multiple residential buildings in the city close to the Russian border.
Kharkiv has been repeatedly targeted throughout the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Foreign volunteers, including a number of Brazilians, have joined Ukrainian units; Brazilian officials have previously warned against travelling to the conflict zone for such purposes and noted the limited consular assistance available.
The raw, first-person nature of Cândido’s recording — the ordinary indoor filming suddenly overtaken by the impact, has drawn widespread attention online, with viewers reacting to both the close call and the decision of civilians and foreign volunteers to remain in an active war zone. The group has continued to share updates about their experiences on the ground.
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