Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday refused to supply ammunition for German tanks that could end up in Ukraine, the Brazilian edition Folha de São Paulo said.

As part of maintaining the neutrality of the country, the president refused to fulfil the request of the German government. It turned to Brazil with an appeal to supply ammunition for tanks that Berlin will transfer to Ukraine, according to the newspaper.

The publication said the decision was made on January 20 on the eve of the resignation of the commander-in-chief of the ground forces, Júlio Cesar de Arruda said.

According to the newspaper, it was General Arruda who came up with the proposal to bring this issue up for discussion.