Tank for a Franc? Swiss Weigh Fire Sale of Arms Over Debate on How to Help Ukraine
- Mothballed vehicles could replace tanks going to Ukraine
- Nature of Swiss neutrality shifting amid war in Europe
A Swiss army Leopard 2 tank.
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
In a bunker in mountainous eastern Switzerland, nearly 100 Leopard 2 tanks have been mothballed for almost a decade, destined for decommissioning in the belief that armored warfare in Europe was a thing of the past.
Their re-emergence into the public eye last weekend, following the announcement that Germany and other European states would send their tanks to Ukraine to defend against Russian attacks, has intensified a debate in the capital Bern about how and when the famously-neutral country can step up its own aid.