Switzerland to investigate reports of Swiss ammunition being supplied to Ukraine

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs has confirmed that it is investigating media reports about the alleged supply of Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine by a Polish company, UMO SP.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Swiss broadcaster RTS

Details: Swiss media outlet Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) published an article on Thursday which claims that Polish company UMO SP re-exported ammunition produced by SwissP Defence to Ukraine.

NZZ also refers to another article published on 1 November in the specialised publication DefenseOne. Referring to customs invoices as evidence, the article reports on two cases in which 145,000 sniper rounds and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles were imported into Ukraine.

European Pravda also sent an enquiry to the Swiss government at the time, but never received a response.

NZZ points out that such exports violate Swiss policy, which prohibits the re-export of military equipment and goods to countries where active hostilities are taking place. At the same time, the media outlet adds, private companies such as UMO SP are not required to sign a re-export permit.

In response to an enquiry from AFP, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, which is responsible for re-export permits, said it was "investigating the matter" but "cannot comment while the investigation is ongoing".

The Polish company UMO SP itself assured AFP that all of its international contracts are "carried out with care, in accordance with certification procedures and compliance rules".

"We have not found any disturbing information or violations of procedures in the case described in the media," UMO SP said, stressing that all its transactions are "subject to close monitoring by the government of the exporting country and supervisory institutions under the Polish government".

Background: Switzerland's neutrality currently prohibits the supply of weapons directly to war zones. This rule applies even if another country has bought weapons from Switzerland: the purchasing countries must sign a so-called non-export declaration.

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