THE Brazil Agency talked to two Brazilians who are in the conflict region of Russia and Ukraine. Their perception – one in Russian territory and one in Ukraine – is different. Today (26), the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) announced the readiness of two KC-390 Millenium multi-mission aircraft for a possible transport of Brazilians evacuated from Ukraine.
Marianna has Ukrainian nationality and has lived in the country for two years. “I am currently in Krakow, Poland, on the advice of my company and the risks of war,” she reported. She left the country on the 15th. Marianna says that her Ukrainian parents are in Brazil, but her brother, sister-in-law and nephew are still in Kiev. “Pretty terrified,” she said.
According to Marianna Petrovna, her family members are sheltering at home, especially downstairs, where it is safer in case of bombing. “I watch videos of shootings, bombings and attacks all the time. Many cities and neighborhoods are being heavily attacked.” She stated that there are reports of Brazilians arrested at the border with Poland.
Petersburg, Russia, is the Brazilian student Túlio Bunder. “I started my Masters in Comparative Eurasian Politics, mid-year in 2020, so my studies were being online, of Brazil. When the border opened for students, I came here at the beginning of January. I have been here for a month and a fortnight,” she said.
Túlio reports that he has no contacts with Brazilians in the country, only with other foreign students from Latin America, who are Venezuelan. “Right now, there is no atmosphere of tension, in the sense of panic, within the student community. Obviously there is some concern about what may happen, we don’t know yet”, he pointed out.
Túlio reports that, although the conflict had been drawing for a long time, there was not much belief that the bombings would begin. “Nobody put much faith here, so in that sense, it was something, let’s say, not unexpected, but a lot of people doubted that there would be such a conflict, at these levels, at these proportions”, he told the Brazil Agency.
In the student’s perception, Russians have “reacted in a surprisingly calm way.” “I have been to the market [na quinta-feira], in a big supermarket, I was in the center of the city. The impression I got is basically a normal day, of course with some small changes, but very paltry, very small, compared to the dynamics of the city.”
Túlio mentioned, among the movements that could deviate from normality, a greater presence of police officers. “That’s what I could see, I didn’t see any major popular mobilization, what I saw were vehicles going from one side to the other. What can also be interpreted as a matter of local protests, but also with concern of attacks and internal sabotage, there is also this concern.”
He also highlights that, among the apprehensions he has heard from colleagues, one of them is the economic issue. “Because of the possible new sanctions and the macroeconomic impacts that could arise in the medium and long term.”
