Dispute between Switzerland and Poland Swiss ammunition allegedly delivered to Ukraine

Switzerland and Poland are in dispute over exports to Ukraine. A Polish company is alleged to have supplied ammunition manufactured in Switzerland without authorization.

A dispute has broken out between Poland and Switzerland over ammunition exports to Ukraine. The Polish arms company UMO vigorously denies that it violated any laws when it delivered ammunition manufactured in Switzerland to Ukraine. The further export was carried out in accordance with Polish law and did not violate Swiss law. "The Swiss government has placed control of the goods under Polish law," explained UMO.

Swiss neutrality prohibits export

Last week, the Swiss government banned exports to UMO because around 645,000 rounds of Swiss small-caliber ammunition had ended up in Ukraine. Swiss neutrality laws prohibit the export or re-export of Swiss or Swiss-manufactured military equipment to countries in conflict. Poland, on the other hand, is one of neighboring Ukraine's staunchest allies and has sought to help Kiev defend itself against the Russian invasion by supplying arms.

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The spokesperson for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, however, stated that UMO had breached its contractual obligations. "The investigation revealed that the Swiss manufacturer and the Polish company had signed a resale contract stating that the Polish company was authorized to resell the ammunition only in Poland," wrote Fabian Maienfisch in an email to the AP news agency. Due to the risk of further re-exports of Swiss ammunition to Ukraine, exports to UMO would be rejected.

dpa