Brazil won't sell its Guarani armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, Infodefensa reports, disclosing the details of the complex negotiation process that has reached its quite predictable finale.
Early May this year was when it transpired that Kyiv sent a confidential diplomatic document dated April 27, 2023, in which the government requested 450 Guarani wheeled armored vehicles in its medical version, the Specialized Ambulance Transport Armored Vehicle (VBTE AMB) from Brazil.
Read more: Potential Purchase of 450 Guarani APCs from Brazil to Ukraine Sparks Interest
Brasília, who doesn't want to aggravate russia too much, received interesting terms for the potential contract: Ukraine guaranteed that Guarani vehicles would only be used for humanitarian purposes and thus "painted in highly visible orange and yellow" highlighting the non-military function of the carriers. The contract was to be funded by Ukraine's partners.
Furthermore, this deal should have become very profitable for their Brazilian APC manufacturer Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV) since an order on 450 vehicles would have both helped the company to expand their production line and give a push to the development of new modifications of Guarani for the Brazilian Army.
In addition, the contract for hundreds of vehicles would have filled the "gap" between the orders caused by Brazil cutting its armor order awarded earlier to IDV almost in half, from an initial 1,500 down to 900 vehicles.
However, Brazil decided not to take this opportunity: according to Infodefensa, the Department of Strategic Affairs, Defense and Disarmament of the Ministry of Affairs rejected the request to sell Guarani to Ukraine back in middle-May. But the manufacturer was informed about the decision only one and a half month later, in the last week of June.
In summary, Brazil not only wasted an opportunity to get a beneficial contract for 450 vehicles but also suffered a "diplomatic damage" since Europe was expecting a more determined position of Brasília on the matter of the war in Ukraine.
Other than that, the refusal to supply APCs to Ukraine aligns with the politics previously adopted by Brazil and manifested in multiple decisions, be it the provision of ammunition for Leopard 1A5 tanks or Gepard anti-aircraft self-propelled guns (by the way, one more painful blow to IDV), or declining a request by the United States to give Mi-17 and Mi35 helicopters to Ukraine which will be scrapped instead.
Read more: Brazil Presents Upgraded ASTROS II Adapted for the TCM with a 300-km Range
