Hendrick Lima Gonçalves, 22, died while fighting in Ukraine, his family said. (Foto: Instagram)
Hendrick Lima Gonçalves, a 22-year-old from Tucuruí in southeastern Pará, Brazil, died in combat in the war in Ukraine, his family confirmed on social media. His sister, Beatriz Fernandes Correa, said in videos posted Sunday, Nov. 1, that the family was having difficulty obtaining information about what happened.
Correa said she had contacted the consulate and Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was waiting for a response. “Everything is still very confusing. This isn’t something that happens quickly, the time zones don’t line up, and we need answers,” she said.
She also said the family believes it is “almost impossible” to recover her brother’s body. According to information the family has received so far, Hendrick was in a high-risk area, making a recovery operation difficult. Correa said bodies can be recovered and identified when an area has been cleared, but that there is little that can be done when it remains dangerous.
Given the expected difficulty of retrieving his body, the family hopes to recover his documents, certificates, medals, and uniform so they can honor him, Correa said.
In the videos, she thanked people for their messages of support. She also criticized people who contacted the family to ask how to join the war or to request a recruiter’s contact information. “We have just lost a family member, and you’re asking how to go there and where to find a recruiter? Are you out of your minds? You aren’t even respecting us in this moment of grief,” she said.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
