“I’m sad for the Ukrainians, for my colleagues and for the country,” Claude Wild said in an interview given to the Blick-TV station on Thursday.
Wild added that “human stupidity” had intervened at a moment when Ukraine “had built itself up so well” and had been on a path towards western values.
Wild was part of a group of five Swiss diplomatic staff who remained in the embassy in Kyiv until its closure on Monday. Most of the other staff were already evacuated last week, when 39 people – including some Swiss citizens and journalists – left Ukraine in a ten-car convoy accompanied by special forces.
Local staff working at the embassy also had the opportunity to leave with this first convoy, said Wild, but most chose to make their own arrangements.
Aid displaced
As for the decision to close the embassy definitively earlier this week, Wild said it was motivated by two main factors. Firstly, other countries had already pulled out, as had the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which would have limited Swiss effectiveness on site. And secondly, the reports of columns of Russian armoured howitzers led to fears of a prolonged shelling of Kyiv, said Wild.
Swiss humanitarian aid is now being organised from neighbouring countries, the Ambassador added: one outpost has been set up in Poland and another – probably in Moldova – is in the works.
Swiss citizens still in Ukraine and who need assistance are advisedExternal link to contact the foreign ministry through its helpline or by email. On Thursday evening, public broadcaster RTS reported that of the some 280 Swiss registered as being in the country on March 1, around 60 were known to have left.
The foreign ministry recommends Swiss people in Ukraine to leave the country, through their own means, if this is possible and safe.
External Content
Popular Stories
More
Climate change
The international consequences of a glacier-free Switzerland
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
‘Pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in defence’
This content was published on
Markus Mäder, Switzerland's state secretary for security policy, believes that more cooperation is needed in order to strengthen defence in Europe.
Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter
This content was published on
Only one in five people in Switzerland attend a religious service during the Easter period or give up meat or alcohol for at least one day of fasting. Around 25% of those polled see Easter primarily as a family holiday, according to the survey.
Major road disruptions continue after heavy snowfall in parts of Switzerland
This content was published on
The snowfall has ended in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, the cantonal emergency services said on Friday. Several roads, however, remain closed.
Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths
This content was published on
Stephan Schmidheiny has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison by the Turin Court of Appeal in a case against the former Eternit executive over deaths linked to asbestos exposure in Italy.
This content was published on
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.