In line with its policy of military neutralitySwitzerland on Friday reiterated that it would not allow the re-export of Swiss war material to Ukraine. However, Bern said that individual parts and assembly packages could be delivered to European defence companies and later these parts could be used in the manufacturing of war materials which could be transferred to the war zone, reported news agency AFP.Germany and Denmark reportedly requested Switzerland to transfer weapons to Ukraine. Bern rejected Berlin’s request to send around 12,400 rounds of 35-millimetre Swiss ammunition for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and for Piranha III wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to Kyiv. Notably, these weapons were originally procured by Denmark but have been stored in Germany since their decommissioning.
Similarly, Switzerland denied Denmark’s request to send 22 Swiss-made Piranha III wheeled APCs to Ukraine. Switzerland also vetoed Poland’s request to send Swiss-made war material to Ukraine for fighting Russian troops.
“Given that exports of such goods from Switzerland to Ukraine cannot be approved due to the law of neutrality’s principle of equal treatment and the provisions of the War Materiel Act, it follows that it is not possible to approve the transfer of Swiss war materiel by Germany and Denmark to Ukraine,” the Federal Council government said in a statement.
The government approved two requests by Swiss defence companies to export individual parts and assembly packages to defence companies in Germany and Italy.
The requests concerned components for both hand-held anti-tank weapons and for anti-aircraft weapons. One of the requests was related to the export of components for hand-held anti-tank weapons and the other for supplying parts for anti-aircraft weapons components. Notably, the Swiss government allowed exports of individual parts if their percentage in the end product does not exceed a certain limit. In the case of Germany and Italy, it is less than 50 percent.
Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war entered its 100th day on Friday. Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24. The fighting has now intensified in the eastern part of Ukraine as Russian forces failed to seize Kyin and Kharkiv regions.
