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This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.

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Switzerland may allow re-export of its weapons to Ukraine

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On Jan. 24, the Swiss parliament’s lower house security policy commission approved an initiative to allow other countries to re-export weapons made in Switzerland to Ukraine.

“The majority of the commission believes that Switzerland must contribute to European security and accordingly provide more support to Ukraine,” lawmakers said in a statement.

The commission believes that the initiative is in line with the country’s law of neutrality since “changes do not allow the direct export of war material to conflict zones” but only affect the “non-re-export declarations of the countries that buy Swiss war material.”

The initiative has yet to be approved by both chambers of the parliament.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, traditionally neutral Switzerland joined the EU in imposing sanctions against Moscow, including those targeting Russian gold. The Swiss government has also frozen Russian financial assets worth nearly $8 billion in response to the invasion.

Last week, Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country supports using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, but it would require “major legal adjustments.” As the current Swiss legislation doesn’t allow the confiscation of sanctioned assets, a referendum may be needed to change this law, he said.

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The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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