Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he did not think Putin’s forces would carry out any mass bloodletting in Ukraine.
“A chief of state like that of Russia does not want to undertake a massacre, anywhere,” he said, adding that in two southern regions of Ukraine, some 90% of the population wanted to “approximate themselves to Russia.”
On Saturday, Bolsonaro tweeted his government would not cease in efforts to evacuate Brazilians from Ukraine.
“I ask all Brazilians in contested territory to stay firm, follow instructions and report any incidents to us. I know about the difficulties, but we won’t spare any efforts to solve them,” Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro said his government had so far managed to remove some 70 Brazilians from Ukraine.
He added that he was against any sanctions that could bring negative repercussions for Brazil, citing Russian fertilizers which are crucial for the country’s giant agribusiness sector.
Asked by a reporter whether he was willing to condemn Putin’s actions, he said he would wait for a final report, or see how the situation is resolved, before giving his opinion.