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UKRAINE

Switzerland placed on list of ‘enemy nations’ by Russia

Russia has placed Switzerland on a list of ‘enemy nations’, due to the latter’s support of sanction efforts.

Published: 7 March 2022 17:29 CET
Swiss President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
Swiss President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The move was announced on Monday, with Russian authorities alleging those placed on the list had committed “unfriendly acts” against it. 

Those placed on the list include all EU countries, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, among others. 

While Russian authorities did not specify exactly why these countries have been placed on the list, experts believe the move comes as a response to western sanctions imposed as a result of the invasion. 

The exact scope and impact of being placed on the list is also relatively unclear, although news agency Interfax reports that anyone in Russia wishing to deal with countries on the list can only do so with government approval. 

“All business and transactions of Russian companies with citizens and companies from countries that are not friendly to Russia are now approved by the government commission for the supervision of foreign investments.”

The practical impact of this is likely to be relatively minimal however, with western companies already pulling out of Russia due to western sanctions. 

Switzerland’s neutrality was questioned after the decision to join the EU’s sanctions effort, although Swiss authorities have repeatedly said the commitment to neutrality is unwavering. 

On Monday, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis dismissed concerns expressed internationally, including by Russian President Vladimir Putin, that western sanctions were a declaration of war. 

“Switzerland is not at war with Russia,” Cassis said.  

International law professor Oliver Diggelmann, from the University of Zurich told The Local that although Switzerland’s announcement was significant, it did not represent an end to Swiss neutrality. 

READ MORE: Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?

“Switzerland remains a neutral country,” Diggelmann said. 

“(Neutral) states have a legal obligation, which comes from their status as permanent neutrals, to not participate militarily in an armed conflict between states and to not support a conflict party with arms.”

Diggelmann emphasised that being committed to neutrality did not mean a commitment to doing nothing. 

“Yesterday, the Swiss government recognised that not fully sanctioning such a blatant violation economically would make (Switzerland) an indirect accomplice of the aggressor. It openly positioned itself against a great power, even though only economically, which also marks a cesura in the Swiss political culture.”

UPDATE: How Switzerland could be impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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UKRAINE

Swiss pull out the stops for Ukraine summit security

Switzerland is undertaking a major security operation around this weekend's summit on Ukraine, aiming to ward off not only physical threats but also cyberattacks and misinformation.

Published: 14 June 2024 08:56 CEST
Swiss pull out the stops for Ukraine summit security

With dozens of heads of state and government flying in for the gathering at the swanky Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, up to 4,000 troops are being deployed and a ring of steel has been put in place.

Around 6.5 kilometres of fencing and eight kilometres of barbed wire is going up, while the valley behind the exclusive hotel complex has been turned into a temporary military heliport.

“An event on this scale requires comprehensive protective measures,” Swiss President Viola Amherd said ahead of the summit.

High on a mountain ridge, surrounded by water on three sides, the Burgenstock is relatively straightforward to seal off.

More than 400 local residents with homes and farms beyond the checkpoint need a special pass to access the “red zone”.

Despite the event’s international importance, security responsibility falls to the tiny rural canton of Nidwalden.

The fifth-smallest of Switzerland’s 26 cantons in terms of both size and population, Nidwalden has just 45,000 residents.

Mud and helicopters 

The military will protect infrastructure, provide air transport and reconnaissance, conduct surveillance and interventions on the lake, and offer logistics and command support.

Soldiers have for days been taking position on the winding turns on the road up to the Burgenstock.
Overlooked by cattle with their cowbells clanging, the heliport was built with metal trackway on a squelching field.

Big enough to accommodate five helicopters, it is surrounded by a double layer of steel fencing and barbed wire.

“The army has the ability to set up a temporary take-off and landing zone anywhere in the country,” said Major General Daniel Keller, commander of the Swiss army’s Territorial Division 2, which encompasses Nidwalden.

“The foreign ministry decides which people fly from here and to here. The army provides the infrastructure,” he told reporters this week.

He said the armed forces were accustomed to maintaining air sovereignty.

“Federal law clearly alludes to the possibility of shooting down an aircraft,” he said, while remaining tight-lipped on potential threats such as drones.

“I am tense but I’m confident we can master this.”

The Swiss intelligence services will also work to identify and prevent threats.

Mindful of potential nuclear, biological and chemical threats, specialists will intensify the monitoring of radioactive emission levels in the area, authorities said.

Cyberattacks, ‘extreme’ misinformation 

Besides potential physical threats, Switzerland is also dealing with attacks in cyberspace and a deluge of misinformation surrounding the event.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, is not attending the summit.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said there was “an obvious interest in disturbing the smooth running of the conference”.

He said there had been an increase in misinformation, including “hysterical broadcasts or offensive broadcasts, even as far as fake news”.

Amherd said the misinformation was “so extreme it’s clear that very little of this information is in line with reality”.

A first wave of distributed denial-of-service attacks on government websites and organisations involved in the summit began on Thursday.

DDoS attacks make websites or network resources unavailable by flooding them with malicious traffic.

“The attacks were expected and are presumed to be in connection with the summit. They resulted in minor outages,” said the National Cyber Security Centre.

It has set up an emergency centre for technical analyses and a communications platform for reporting “cyber-threat developments” during the summit.

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