The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) has instructed Brazil’s ambassador to Ukraine, Norton Rapesta, to return to Kiev, the capital of the country invaded by Russia just over five months ago.
The diplomat had left the city a few days after the start of the war, in early March. At the time, he released a video in which he claimed security reasons for the move, but stated that he would not leave Ukraine until he made it possible for all Brazilians who wished to leave the country to withdraw.
Shortly after the Russian invasion, which reached the outskirts of Kiev in a matter of days, the Foreign Ministry first moved the diplomatic team to Lviv, a city further west and less targeted by attacks from Moscow. Then he transferred all representation to Chisinau, capital of Moldova — Rapesta was already working in Ukraine as an ambassador in the neighboring country, where there is no embassy.
According to the ministry, in the last five months around 250 Brazilians were served in the region, especially for issuing documents and crossing the border. In a note released this Tuesday (26) to confirm that it “instructed the return” of Rapesta to the Ukrainian capital, the Foreign Ministry informed that it will close the work of the temporary consular service posts in Chisinau (Moldova), Kosice (Slovakia), Lviv and Chernivtsi. (Ukraine).
The ambassador’s return to Kiev takes place after Bolsonaro’s occasional friction with the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky. Last week, the two leaders spoke for the first time since the beginning of the war; the day after the phone call, the Eastern European leader criticized the Brazilian in an interview with TV Globo, attacking the neutral position defended by him on more than one occasion.
Subsequently, Bolsonaro reaffirmed his stance, saying that Zelenski had used an emotional and venting tone. “There is no charge between me and a head of state. Brazil is independent, he is also independent,” he said.
Although Brazil has criticized the war in international forums such as the UN, with votes against Russia, the president defends neutrality due to two main factors: the high dependence on fertilizers, imported from Moscow, and negotiations with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, for the purchase of diesel.
The Chief Executive said on the 17th that negotiations are ongoing. “We are quite advanced in terms of supplying diesel to Brazil. How much cheaper? I don’t know. The cheaper the better,” he said, without giving details about the agreement. In June, Petrobras had warned that the national supply of diesel requires “special attention”.
This Tuesday’s note from Itamaraty reinforces that the government recommends that Brazilian citizens not enter Ukraine and informs that the ministry remains attentive to the evolution of the conflict and may “resume any emergency measures to assist Brazilian citizens that may be necessary”.
