One year into the Russia-Ukraine war, Brazil’s stance hasn’t changed much

As the United Nations General Assembly marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine war with a new resolution against the conflict, member countries take the opportunity to reflect on what has changed since then. 

Despite a watershed election and change of government, however, Brazil’s position on the war has remained largely the same. The country officially condemns the invasion, yet refuses to take sides. It has avoided annoying Vladimir Putin, as Russia remains Brazil’s main supplier of fertilizers.

When Russia began its full-scale invasion in the early hours of February 24, 2022, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was still in office in Brazil. A few days prior, he had visited Mr. Putin in Moscow and declared that the country was “in solidarity with Russia.”

Mr. Bolsonaro later released a statement claiming he desired “peace for all,” in an effort to dilute the negative reaction to his comments. It was to no avail: the U.S. State Department criticized Mr. Bolsonaro’s remarks, stating that they undermined “international diplomacy directed at averting a strategic and humanitarian disaster, as well as Brazil’s own calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.”

As Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv, Mr. Bolsonaro’s allies in Brasília had other priorities. While the UN Security Council held its last session before the invasion, Brazil’s lower house held a hasty floor vote on a bill to legalize casinos and other forms of gambling. The bill’s approval was a victory for the Bolsonaro administration, but it has since stalled in the Senate.

As a non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2022-2023, Brazil voted alongside the U.S. and other NATO members in a resolution that “deplored” Russia’s “aggression...