In early March, it became known that Rheinmetall plans to purchase 96 Leopard 1 tanks from Ruag for transfer to the AFU.
The Swiss authorities will launch an investigation against the state-owned defense company Ruag after a failed attempt to sell about 100 Leopard tanks to the German company Rheinmetall.
If the deal had been successful, the tanks would have ended up in Ukraine's inventory and would have been used in combat operations. The Swiss Defense Ministry's statement calls on external auditors to investigate the situation, as well as to review the relationship between the Swiss authorities and Ruag.
In early March, it became known that Rheinmetall planned to purchase 96 Leopard 1 tanks from Ruag for their subsequent transfer to Ukraine. However, this deal was blocked as the sale of the tanks would have violated Switzerland's neutrality. The Swiss Federal Council eventually rejected Ruag's request to sell Leopard-1 tanks to Rheinmetall.
Switzerland has tracked the status of permanent neutrality since 1815 and is not authorized by law to supply arms to countries involved in hostilities. In early March, the Swiss parliament also rejected a proposal to authorize arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine from European countries.