Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Macron says Israeli PM's measures on Gaza 'unacceptable' and 'shameful'
Yemeni Armed Forces: Companies that have not announced the suspension of their flights should follow in the footsteps of those who did, suspending flights to airports in occupied Palestine
Yemeni Armed Forces: The operation confirms the continued blockade on navigation at Ben Gurion Airport
Yemeni Armed Forces: The missile successfully achieved its goal, causing millions of Zionists to flee to shelters and halting air traffic for about an hour
Yemeni Armed Forces: We targeted Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Yafa region with a hypersonic ballistic missile
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Air raid sirens sound in the Gaza envelope settlements
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The number of martyrs in the European Hospital massacre in Khan Younis has exceeded 20
Senior Resistance figure: Loser Netanyahu is trying to please the Zionist right by claiming that he is achieving success in Gaza
Senior Resistance figure: Israeli media reports about the presence of a Resistance leader at the site of the massacre committed by targeting the European Hospital are not true
Israeli army claims intercepting a ballistic missile launched from Yemen

Swiss lower house votes against $5.5Bln aid package to Ukraine

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 8 Jun 2023 21:24
  • 3 Shares
3 Min Read

The Swiss National Council opposed providing Ukraine with a 5 billion franc aid program.

  • x
  • A general view shows a session at the Swiss parliament in Bern, Switzerland September 20, 2017. (Reuters)
    A general view shows a session at the Swiss Parliament in Bern, Switzerland September 20, 2017. (Reuters)

The Swiss National Council, the country's lower house of parliament, voted on Thursday against providing Ukraine with a 5 billion Swiss franc ($5.5 billion) aid package for humanitarian assistance, civilian protection, and mine clearance, citing several issues concerning the country's reconstruction.

"The National Council is currently opposed to providing Ukraine with the 5 billion franc aid program. On Thursday, it rejected the proposal of the Foreign Affairs Committee to grant the aid package for a period of five to 10 years. The proposal has been withdrawn," the statement, published by the Swiss parliament, read.
 
The document added that "The funds were earmarked for humanitarian aid, protection of civilians, mine clearance and 'peace consolidation'."

Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told a parliamentary session that the country will continue to assist Ukraine in rebuilding, but that several issues relating to the country's reconstruction and international cooperation in this field needed to be clarified.

Read next: US announces new $300mln military assistance package for Ukraine

On June 12, the Council of States, the upper chamber of parliament, will debate a similar plan to send Ukraine a 5 billion franc package, according to the paper.

Since the outbreak of hostilities with Russia in February 2022, Western countries have been supplying Ukraine with increasingly powerful weapons.

Related News

China, Switzerland mark 75 years with push to expand trade ties

China’s exports to US fall 17.6% March to April amid trade war

Pascale Baeriswyl, Switzerland's permanent representative to the United Nations, stated in May that re-exporting Swiss weapons to Ukraine would be difficult without a modification in the legislation.

The Alpine country has frequently refused demands from Germany, Spain, and Denmark to re-export Swiss-made munitions to Kiev, citing the country's military neutrality principle. Bern, according to Swiss authorities, has the authority to deny the re-export of war materials if the country to which they are destined is embroiled in an international armed conflict.

Read next: US to announce fresh $1.2b military aid package to Ukraine

Two days earlier, it was announced that the Biden administration and Congress were collectively working toward sending $37 million in cyber aid to Ukraine after another round of the US-Ukraine Cyber Dialogue that took place in Tallinn, Estonia this month, the US State Department reported on Monday. 

In a press release, the State Department said that the United States and Ukraine met in Tallinn on June 1, 2023, to reconvene the US-Ukraine Cyber Dialogue, which is an annual discussion on cyber policy issues, adding that "during the dialogue, the US delegation reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to support Ukraine's cyber defenses in the face of Russia's unprovoked aggression. As part of this support, the United States is working with Congress to provide an additional $37 million in cyber assistance to Ukraine."

The new assistance would lift the total amount of US cyber aid to Ukraine to $82 million since February 2022 and to $120 million since 2016, the release added. 

Moreover, the US Department of Defense released its new 2023 Cyber Strategy in May, saying that the document was partially informed by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and described how the US military is expected to operate in cyberspace amid increasing threats. 

  • Switzerland
  • Russia
  • war in Ukraine
  • Aid packages
  • Ukraine

Most Read

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Pakistan downs an Indian jet and hits a military base in Kashmir escalation.

Pakistan downs 3 Indian jets, hits military base in Kashmir escalation

  • Politics
  • 7 May 2025
Saree

Yemeni Armed Forces target key Israeli sites, USS Truman

  • MENA
  • 7 May 2025
A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 (AP)
Politics

UK Labour MPs urge government to recognize Palestine

Israeli exodus: 60,000 Israelis fled last year without return
Politics

Israeli exodus: 60,000 settlers fled last year on one-way tickets

Hollywood actors condemn Gaza violence days before Cannes Festival
Arts and Culture

350+ Hollywood actors condemn Gaza genocide ahead of Cannes Festival

Likud minister calls Trump as ‘unpredictable,’ unreliable
Palestine

Likud minister rebukes Trump, calls him 'unpredictable', unreliable

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS