Everything is very uncertain right now
Em meio à maior crise de refugiados da Europa desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial, um avião da Força Aérea Brasileira pousou em Brasília carregando 68 pessoas que fugiram da guerra na Ucrânia — entre elas estudantes, médicos e famílias que deixaram para trás vidas inteiras construídas em território estrangeiro. O gesto humanitário do Brasil, que levou toneladas de ajuda à Polônia antes de repatriar seus cidadãos, revela tanto a solidariedade possível em tempos de conflito quanto a fragilidade dos projetos humanos diante da violência dos Estados. Para quem desembarcou naquela manhã de março, o alívio de pisar em solo seguro convive com a pergunta que toda guerra deixa sem resposta: e agora?
- Um estudante de medicina a uma prova da formatura viu bombas caindo perto de seu apartamento em Kyiv e precisou abandonar tudo o que havia construído nos últimos anos.
- O KC-390 da FAB — uma aeronave militar, sem conforto para passageiros — tornou-se o único caminho de volta para dezenas de pessoas de diferentes nacionalidades, incluindo ucranianos que nunca haviam pisado no Brasil.
- A chegada ao espaço aéreo brasileiro provocou lágrimas e corações acelerados: para muitos, o anúncio do piloto foi o primeiro momento de alívio real depois de dias de caos, fuga e incerteza.
- Apesar do reencontro com familiares e do calor do solo natal, os evacuados enfrentam um futuro nebuloso — empregos ameaçados, cursos interrompidos e a possibilidade real de precisar retornar à zona de conflito.
- Com mais de 2,3 milhões de pessoas já deslocadas da Ucrânia, a operação brasileira foi um gesto simbólico e concreto num cenário em que a diplomacia ainda busca seu caminho entre a condenação e a omissão.
Na manhã de 10 de março, um avião da Força Aérea Brasileira pousou em Brasília com 68 pessoas a bordo — entre elas Rony Moura, estudante de medicina de Niquelândia, Goiás, que vivia em Kyiv quando as bombas russas começaram a cair perto de seu apartamento. Ele estava a uma prova de se formar médico quando precisou largar tudo e fugir.
O KC-390 havia partido de Brasília quatro dias antes carregando 11.6 toneladas de ajuda humanitária para a Polônia. De Varsóvia, embarcou seu carregamento humano: 43 brasileiros, 19 ucranianos, cinco argentinos, um colombiano e dez animais de estimação. No tarmac, o presidente Jair Bolsonaro aguardava a chegada.
O desconforto da aeronave militar pareceu irrelevante para quem havia atravessado dias de bombardeios e fuga. Moura descreveu a sensação de pousar em solo brasileiro como uma emoção única, mistura de alívio e gratidão. André Cunha, gerente comercial que desembarcou em Curitiba, falou do cansaço da viagem e da ansiedade de rever a família. A médica Amarilis Tomaz, ao pousar em Recife, disse que o coração de todos saltou quando o piloto anunciou a entrada no espaço aéreo brasileiro.
Mas a alegria do retorno carregava o peso da incerteza. Moura não sabe se seu emprego remoto sobreviverá à turbulência, nem se será obrigado a voltar à Ucrânia antes de concluir o curso de medicina. O que ele queria naquele momento era simples: ver o filho, a namorada, e descansar.
A operação fez parte da resposta oficial do Brasil à invasão iniciada em 24 de fevereiro. Com mais de 2,3 milhões de ucranianos já deslocados segundo a ONU, os 68 passageiros daquele voo representavam uma fração mínima de uma crise humana de proporções históricas — mas para cada um deles, pousar em Brasília significou, ao menos por um instante, o fim do caos.
On Thursday morning, March 10th, a Brazilian Air Force transport plane touched down in Brasília carrying 68 people who had just fled a war zone. Among them was Rony Moura, a medical student from Niquelândia in Goiás, who had been living in Kyiv when Russian forces invaded. He was one exam away from his diploma when the bombs started falling near his apartment.
The KC-390 aircraft had left the Brazilian capital four days earlier, loaded with 11.6 tons of humanitarian aid bound for Poland. It arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday, picked up its human cargo from the Polish capital, and turned back toward home. The passenger manifest read like a snapshot of displacement: 43 Brazilians, 19 Ukrainians, five Argentines, one Colombian, eight dogs, and two cats. President Jair Bolsonaro was waiting on the tarmac to greet them.
For Moura, the flight itself was grueling—the KC-390 is a military transport, not built for comfort. But discomfort seemed irrelevant now. "The aircraft isn't comfortable at all, but comfort was the last thing we were looking for right now," he said after landing. "The feeling of being here and being received like this—it's a unique emotion and, at the same time, relief, because we were going through real hardship." He had watched bombs detonate in his neighborhood. He had packed what he could carry. He had gotten out.
Others on the flight carried similar weight. André Cunha, a sales manager who disembarked in Curitiba, spoke of exhaustion mixed with anticipation. "The journey was tiring, but we're eager to see our families, to embrace our loved ones and friends. We're happy to be back home," he said. Amarilis Tomaz, a physician who landed in Recife, described the moment the pilot announced they were entering Brazilian airspace. "When our pilot said, 'Welcome to Brazilian lands,' everyone's heart jumped a little with happiness, after so much madness, so much chaos we went through. Landing here in Recife, in this heat—it's being home again."
But relief and joy were only part of the story. Moura's future had become a tangle of uncertainties. He had been working remotely while studying medicine; now he didn't know if that job would survive the upheaval, or if circumstances might force him back to Ukraine before he could finish his degree. "Everything is very uncertain right now," he said. "I was studying and working there. I can work remotely, but my job could change. It could force me to go back, and I still have my medical course pending. Everything is very uncertain. I have no certainty about anything right now." What he wanted most was simple: to see his girlfriend and son, and to rest.
The evacuation was part of Brazil's official response to the Russian invasion that began on February 24th. The assault came by air, land, and sea across Ukrainian territory. By the time this plane landed in Brasília, the United Nations estimated that more than 2.3 million people had already fled Ukraine. The Brazilian government had condemned the invasion at the UN Security Council, though President Bolsonaro had largely avoided direct criticism of Russia itself. Still, the Air Force had acted: two flights, humanitarian cargo both ways, and now these 68 people—some of them Brazilian citizens who had built lives abroad, others seeking refuge in a country they'd never seen before—were on solid ground again, waiting for Covid tests and whatever came next.
Citações Notáveis
The feeling of being here and being received like this is a unique emotion and, at the same time, relief, because we were going through real hardship.— Rony Moura, medical student
When our pilot said, 'Welcome to Brazilian lands,' everyone's heart jumped a little with happiness, after so much madness, so much chaos we went through.— Amarilis Tomaz, physician
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What struck you most about talking to these people as they landed?
The gap between relief and dread. They were genuinely happy to be alive and safe, but you could feel the weight of what they'd left behind—unfinished degrees, jobs in limbo, families still in danger.
Moura was one exam away from becoming a doctor. Did he talk about whether he'd go back?
He couldn't say. That's the cruelty of it—he doesn't know if his job will let him stay, or if the war will trap him here, or if somehow he'll have to return before finishing. He's suspended in uncertainty.
The plane carried humanitarian aid on the way there. Did that feel significant to the people arriving?
It wasn't something they mentioned, but it mattered in the background. Brazil wasn't just extracting its citizens; it was trying to help. The plane went both directions.
Bolsonaro was there to meet them. What was the political temperature?
Formal. He showed up, which mattered symbolically. But Brazil had been careful not to antagonize Russia publicly, even while condemning the invasion at the UN. It was a balancing act.
What about the non-Brazilians on the plane—the Ukrainians, the Argentines?
They were part of the same desperation. War doesn't check passports. They all needed to leave, and Brazil took them. Nineteen Ukrainians, five Argentines, one Colombian—they were all just trying to survive.
Do you think Moura will finish his medical degree?
I don't know. He wants to. But he's caught between a job that might not wait, a war that might pull him back, and a country that's now his refuge but not his home. That's the real story—not whether he escapes, but whether he can rebuild.