It is about 145,000 rounds of sniper ammunitioncaliber 0.338 Magnum Lupua, produced by Swiss P. This was once known as the Thun ammunition factory, later Ruag Ammotec – since last year it has been a subsidiary of the Italian manufacturer Beretta. What is explosive is that the ammunition is said to have appeared in Ukraine, as the NZZ writes. This is evident from a packing slip that mentions 145,000 pieces of Swiss sniper ammunition that a Polish company supplies mainly to Ukraine.
An accompanying document even mentions this 500,000 rounds of ammunition – in this case we are talking about a NATO standard caliber for assault rifles, also here from the Swiss company Swiss P. The Polish supplier is UMO SP, the company specializes in services for the Polish police and special forces. LLC Ukrainska is indicated as a recipient, but there is no specific information about this in open sources.
If Swiss ammunition were actually resold to Ukraine, this would have implications for the War Material Act (KMG). It bans the export of Swiss military equipment to countries at war. Re-export is also prohibited. Not long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the law was tightened. However, private companies such as the Polish UMO SP do not have to sign a re-export declaration.
In the Ukraine Regulation, which regulates the adoption of EU sanctions against Russia, the Federal Council has determined that the parties to the conflict must be treated equally: in the field of arms deliveries, no distinction is made between the Russian aggressor and the defending Ukraine . Foreign government requests for re-export were consistently rejected by the Federal CouncilGermany was not allowed to pass on Gepard ammunition, nor was Denmark allowed to provide Piranha wheeled infantry fighting vehicles.
This position of official Switzerland is not well received by Western allies: some countries already want to stop buying Swiss-made war materials. Meanwhile, Swiss company Swiss P explains to the NZZ:
The State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) informed the NZZ that it is working on the matter. The whole thing is reminiscent of the illegal re-export of eleven Eagle reconnaissance vehicles from Germany to Ukraine. Seco has now blocked the affected supplier. It is not yet known whether the Polish authorities have approved the re-export to Ukraine in this case and thus ignored Swiss law.
(rbu)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
