Switzerland refuses to admit injured Ukrainian soldiers, cites neutral position

Switzerland’s government has objected to a NATO request to treat Ukrainians injured in the ongoing war, stating legal and practical grounds of neutrality. The Swiss Federal government officially rejected admission of wounded in the war stating that it would jeopardize the country’s neutral status. Earlier, Tages Anzeiger reported that certain Swiss cantons had forwarded a willingness to treat the wounded but opposition from governmental quarters scrapped the initiative.

It is pertinent to note that certain international treaties- like the Geneva Convention and the Hague Agreement of 1907- require neutral states to ensure that all the rehabilitated soldiers can no longer take part in military operations after their recovery. However, with no end to the war in sight, all the soldiers would definitely be required to return to the battlefield. Thousands of soldiers-both Ukrainians as well foreigners- have suffered major injuries while fighting for Kyiv’s sovereignty. Hundreds have died. 

War continues to ravage Ukraine

As the war in Eastern Europe drew closer to the end of its fifth month, Russia continued its relentless shelling of Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s embattled president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expanded the shakeup of his security services by suspending 28 more officers. A day earlier, he dismissed two senior officials over allegations that their agencies contained “collaborators and traitors.”

On Monday, Tass reported that Russia has claimed to have neutralized more than 250 'foreign fighters' using high-precision missile strikes at the temporary deployment point for mercenaries of the "so-called Ukrainian Foreign Legion" in the Kostantinovka region of Donetsk. The Russian Defence Ministry in its report has said that 12 special vehicles have been destroyed in the attack carried out at the temporary deployment point of mercenaries. The latest report of the Russian Defence Ministry comes amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine which has continued for more than 140 days. 

"High-precision air-based missiles in Kostantinovka, Donetsk People's Republic, have neutralized temporary deployment point of mercenaries of so-called Ukrainian Foreign Legion. The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 250 military personnel and 12 special vehicles," the Russian Defence Ministry said in the latest report. 

(Image: AP)

(With inputs from agencies)