March 19, 2022
- By RFE/RL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a video address has urged Switzerland to crack down on Russian oligarchs living in the country who he said were helping the Kremlin wage war on Ukraine.
In a speech on March 19 to thousands of people attending an anti-war protest in Bern, the Ukrainian leader thanked Switzerland for its support since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of his country.
But he also urged the Swiss financial sector to take action against the Russian millionaires who are using financial institutions in Switzerland to help fund Russia's war.
"Your banks are where the money of the people who unleashed this war lies. That is painful. That is also a fight against evil, that their accounts are frozen. That would also be a fight, and you can do this," he told the crowd through a translator in the video linkup.
"Ukrainians feel what it is when cities are destroyed. They are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege."
In a rare move for the normally neutral country, Switzerland has fully adopted European Union sanctions against Russian individuals and entities and has ordered a freeze on their assets in Swiss banks.
Still, some ultrawealthy Russians -- said to have close ties to President Vladimir Putin -- continue to do business in Switzerland and have so far not been subject to financial sanctions.
No official figures have been released on Russian assets in the country, but the country's financial industry association estimates that Switzerland's secretive banks hold up to $213 billion of overall Russian wealth.
In his address, Zelenskiy -- wearing a short-sleeved, camouflage T-shirt -- also criticized the Swiss-based Nestle food company, which has so far decided not to withdraw from Russia, unlike many other companies.
Swiss President Ignazio Cassis greeted Zelenskiy from a stage on the Swiss capital's main square.
"We are impressed by the courage with which your people are fighting for freedom and peace," Cassis said.
"We are impressed by the way you defend the fundamental values of the free world, which are also our fundamental values."
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