“Ukrainian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the intimidation of journalists Jared Goyette and Sérgio Utsch, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that members of the press are not harassed or threatened over their work,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Journalists must be able to report on matters of public interest safely and freely. It is particularly crucial that they be able to do so when covering military matters during wartime.”
The investigation, co-published on February 18, revealed allegations of abuse and torture within a Brazilian-led foreign fighter unit operating under an international HUR (Defense Intelligence of Ukraine) unit called the International Legion, which led to the death of a 23-year-old Brazilian recruit on a Kyiv military base in late December 2025.
On February 25, Brazilian commander Leanderson Paulino, who leads the unit, commented on the allegations in a 13-minute video, denouncing a “Russian operation coordinated with Brazilian broadcasters.” On February 28, Paulino posted a series of Instagram stories, reviewed by CPJ, in which he accused Goyette of taking money from Russia “to design and plan a major act of sabotage against my battalion,” meaning that the journalist had planned to give the battalion a bad reputation. “Did you split the money with [Utsch] from SBT, or did you take the money just for yourself?” he posted".
