RIO DE JANEIRO, January 27. /TASS/. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva refused to consider an option to send tank ammunition to Germany over concerns that these shells could be handed over to Ukraine, the Folha de Sao Paulo reported Friday.

According to the report, the decision was made on January 20, during the meeting with top military command ahead of the resignation of Ground Forces commander Julio Cesar de Arruda. According to the report, it was Arruda, who raised the question of sending ammunition to Germany during the meeting.

The Brazilian leader justified his rejection by arguing that one "should not provoke the Russians."

According to the newspaper, the shells in question are ammunition for Leopard 1 tanks.

This is not the first time Germany attempted to reach an agreement with Brazil on handover of German-made weapons to Ukraine. Last year, Berlin was denied to buy ammunition for Gepard air defense systems, the report notes.