‘Kyiv already feels cold’, says Swiss president on visit

Swiss President Ignazio Cassis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a news conference after their meeting in Kyiv. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Reconstruction and humanitarian aid were a main focus of Thursday's talks in Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis has told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

“With President Zelensky, it was about the strategic situation of the country. Is there a way out of this war? How do you prepare for a hard winter?” he said in an interviewExternal link published on Friday. “You can already feel the cold in Kyiv.”

Asked why he went ahead with the visit, whereas German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had postponed a trip for security reasons, Cassis said that he had felt safe in Kyiv and on the train journey from Poland. “I see that the city unfortunately has wounds from the last attacks, but it still seems to be in a stable and calm state,” he told SRF. “But of course in a war zone, there is never no risk.”

Cassis was in Kyiv on Thursday to assess the war situation and preparatory work for the reconstruction of Ukraine. During the visit he met with Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. 

The discussions centered on humanitarian assistance that Switzerland can provide to Ukraine and measures to later help the country rebuild.

Since the start of the war in February, Switzerland has sent more than 680 tons of relief supplies to Ukraine plus 4,750 tons of food. Another delivery of Swiss firefighting and debris clearance equipment is currently enroute to Ukraine.

In a tweet Cassis, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, said he is “appalled by the war of aggression against civilian infrastructure” in Ukraine. He praised the resilience of people in Borodyanka and Ivankiv that have been targeted by Russian missiles.

Appalled by the #warExternal link of aggression against civilian infrastructure and moved by the #resilienceExternal link of Ukraine and its citizens in #BorodyankaExternal link & #IvankivExternal link. humanitarian aid and reconstruction #supportExternal link are needed to overcome winter and beyond. pic.twitter.com/RD8jsdMlLAExternal link

— Ignazio Cassis (@ignaziocassis) October 20, 2022External link

Switzerland hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano on July 5, to which representatives of some 40 states and 15 international organisations were invited.

There are currently about 70,000 refugees from Ukraine in Switzerland. The authorities expect the figure to rise further over the next three months.

Cassis holds talks in Moldova on Friday before attending an international expert conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Berlin next week, organised by the G7 and European Commission.