Switzerland suspends exports of ammunition to Poland due to transfers of it to Ukraine

23 November, 2024 Swiss ammunition in 5.56 mm caliber. Photo credits: Swiss P The Swiss government has officially banned the export of small-caliber ammunition to a Polish company because of its transfer to Ukraine.

This was reported by the Associated Press. The ban was announced after the government learned about the transfer of about 645,000 small-caliber ammunition produced by the company Swiss P. "Exports for the Polish company will be banned, as the risk of diversion to Ukraine is assessed as too high," the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs announced.

Swiss ammunition in 5.56 mm caliber.

Photo credits: Swiss P

The investigation into the illegal transfer began after a report by the US news outlet Defence One in November last year. The report stated that a Ukrainian company had received 645,000 armor-piercing rounds manufactured by SwissP Defense and delivered by the Polish importer UMO. "The investigation revealed that the Swiss manufacturer and the Polish company had signed a dealer agreement stating that the Polish company had only been authorized to resell the ammunition within Poland," the Swiss Secretariat (SECO) told the Associated Press.

The investigation revealed that the Polish company had violated its contractual obligations to the Swiss manufacturer, which had resulted in the ammunition having been transferred to Ukraine. In addition, AP sent an official request to SwissP Defense. In response, the company stated that it had not violated any Swiss rules or legislation.

According to them, all questions regarding the violation of agreements relate to the Polish company UMO.

Swiss ammunition in 5.56 mm caliber. Photo credits: Swiss P

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the Swiss government launched an investigation into military equipment and machinery that comes to Ukraine from other states or private companies. As the Swiss defense industry is quite large and significant, equipment and machinery from this country has been repeatedly spotted on the territory of Ukraine, where it was used against the Russian army.

Nevertheless, Switzerland continues to support Ukraine through humanitarian programs and exports of its products, including remotely operated demining vehicles, tents and other necessary equipment.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the President of Switzerland had said that she had been in favor of revising the ban on the re-export of Swiss-made weapons from other countries to Ukraine.