The Swiss are preparing a new aid package of 140 million francs for Ukraine and Moldova, writes Reuters on Wednesday, February 22. The Swiss government is seeking parliamentary approval to send 140 million francs, equivalent to $151 million at the exchange rate of $1 = 0.9270 Swiss francs, in additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
Switzerland has already allocated 1.3 billion francs to support Ukraine, including 270 million francs to help people in the country and 1.03 billion francs to support Ukrainians who fled to Switzerland.
Some 75,000 Ukrainians have been granted refuge in Switzerland since the conflict began on February 24 last year. About 25,000 people are hosted by Swiss families.
The government said it was convinced that continued support was needed to improve the “precarious situation” of people in Ukraine, where 40 percent of the population is dependent on aid.
“In a humanitarian, diplomatic way and with reconstruction in mind, we can support Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told a news conference in Bern. “The needs on the ground are immense,” he added.
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Most of the money – 114 million francs – is allocated to Ukraine; 26 million francs to Moldova. Aid envisaged includes shelters for schools, repairs to hospitals and energy infrastructure, or small loans for small agricultural businesses.
Mine clearance and psychological and social support for the population are also among the projects that could be supported.
Neutral Switzerland adopted European Union sanctions against Russia, including restrictions against 1,300 people and the freezing of their 7.5 billion francs in assets.
But Bern has blocked the further export of Swiss-made weapons by Germany, Denmark, and Spain to Kyiv, citing its neutrality laws.
“The government is convinced that military support is not the right way,” Cassis told reporters.