“Switzerland banned the export of a Polish company due to ammunition in Ukraine – APSwitzerland banned the export of a Polish supplier of military equipment due to violations of the law. 645,000 Swiss cartridges entered Ukraine through a Polish company, contrary to the terms of the contract.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the country stated that exports for the Polish company will be prohibited, as “the risk of redirection to Ukraine is assessed as too high.”
Switzerland has long advertised its neutrality in world affairs, and Swiss law prohibits the export of Swiss-owned or manufactured military equipment to countries in a state of conflict.
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However, the Swiss government supported the European Union’s economic sanctions against Russia over a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The secretariat reportedly opened the investigation after “a report last November by US news agency Defense One said that a Ukrainian company had received 645,000 rifle rounds of armor-piercing projectiles produced by SwissP Defense and supplied by Polish importer UMO.”
“The investigation revealed that the Swiss manufacturer and the Polish company signed a resale agreement, which stated that the Polish company had the right to resell the ammunition only in Poland,” the secretariat, known as SECO, said in an email to The Associated Press.
The investigation concluded that the Polish company “failed to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Swiss manufacturer, and the ammunition ended up in Ukraine.”
SwissP Defense said in an email that “we always follow the rules” in Switzerland and declined to disclose information about its client relationships.
UMO did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Addition
Switzerland tried hard to maintain its reputation as a neutral country after Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine. Last year, Switzerland insisted that German-made tanks it owned but had written off could not be sent to Ukraine.
However, Switzerland is moving closer to NATO: this week, the Swiss executive approved Switzerland’s participation in crisis management exercises that the alliance will hold next spring, the newspaper said.