For the first time since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, a Swiss volunteer fighter has died on the front in Ukraine
That’s according to Swiss Info, Ukrinform reports.
The Foreign Ministry of Switzerland stated that the Swiss embassy in Kyiv was informed of his death at the beginning of the year.
The man apparently lost his life in fighting, foreign ministry spokesman Michael Steiner told Swiss public broadcaster, SRF. The circumstances of his death are unclear. In particular, it is not known in which unit the Swiss soldier was serving or in which region he was stationed.
Swiss military justice opened several criminal proceedings against Swiss nationals at the start of the war in Ukraine. They are suspected of having taken part in the fighting as volunteer combatants or mercenaries. Thirteen proceedings are currently under way.
Services abroad can be punishable under Swiss military criminal law by up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine.
Military justice had already initiated three proceedings in connection with Ukraine before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
As reported by Ukrinform, Swiss citizen Jona Neidhart, who fought against Russian invaders on the side of Ukraine for two years, was arrested in Bern. Neidhart voluntarily surrendered to the Swiss police on June 14 in order to draw attention to Ukraine during the Peace Summit in Switzerland, which began on June 15.
With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the native of Zurich joined the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine and took part in combat operations in the Donbas and Kharkiv region, including in the counteroffensive and the liberation of Ukrainian lands.
Neidhart was later released for the duration of the pre-trial investigation.
