Polish company denies that it broke the law in sending Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish company strongly denied any laws were broken when it sent Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, after the Swiss government placed some export restrictions on the company over concerns that the ammunition ended up in Ukraine.

Switzerland’s government said last week it was barring exports to Polish military hardware supplier UMO after concluding that some 645,000 rounds of Swiss-made small-caliber ammunition ended up in Ukraine.

The issue is sensitive because Swiss laws on neutrality and the export of war material ban the export or re-export of Swiss-owned or Swiss-made military hardware to countries in conflict.

Poland, in contrast, is one of neighboring Ukraine’s staunchest allies and has sought to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia’s invasion with arms supplies.

UMO, which specializes in hardware for the military and police, said it purchased ammunition in 2023 from a Swiss ammunitions provider, SwissP Defence, and later exported the ammunition to Ukraine “in accordance with the Polish law.”

It argued that it did not break Swiss law either, saying that “the Swiss government handed over control of the goods to Polish law.”

“The information that the Polish company UMO … in any way violated the provisions of generally applicable law by exporting ammunition purchased from the Swiss manufacturer SWISS P Defence AG to Ukraine is untrue,” UMO said in an email to The Associated Press this week.

Fabian Maienfisch, a spokesperson for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, also known as SECO, said UMO “did not honour the contractual commitments it made to the Swiss manufacturer and the ammunition ended up in Ukraine.”

“The investigation showed that the Swiss manufacturer and the Polish company had signed a reseller agreement stating that the Polish company was entitled to resell the ammunition only in Poland,” he said in a statement emailed to the AP.

“For the time being, export requests to the Polish company concerned for general resale are denied, since the risk of diversion to Ukraine is assessed as being too high. However the Polish company can still act as an intermediary for Polish state entities,” the statement added.

UMO has since vehemently pushed back, stating it “always operates within the limits set by the provisions of generally applicable law and in compliance with contracts concluded with its contractors.”

The company published its denial on its website and in an emailed statement to the AP.

In a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, UMO said that it is “proud of its role in strengthening the defense and freedom of Ukraine.”

The Associated Press