Switzerland rejects NATO call to take in wounded Ukrainians

The Swiss foreign ministry has refused to take in Ukrainians wounded in hostilities at home for fear of breaking neutrality, Swiss media reported on Monday.

Swiss cantons provisionally agreed to bring in wounded Ukrainian troops and civilians for treatment after the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center made the request in May, the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reported.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in June, however, after three weeks of deliberations, that it had to turn down the request on "legal and practical grounds" because Geneva and The Hague conventions require that belligerents tendered in neutral territory do not take part again in military operations.

The Swiss ministry argued that it would have had to intern wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike because civilians in Ukraine have been taking up arms against Russian troops and it was difficult to tell belligerents and non-combatants apart.

Switzerland will help wounded Ukrainians by sending humanitarian aid to civilian hospitals in Ukraine, the newspaper said.