On September 26, the thematic seminar "Ukrainian Forum: more than 580 days of resistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine" was held in the Parliament of Switzerland. Co-organizers of the event were the Switzerland-Ukraine Friendship Group, the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland, the Interfaculty Institute of Central and Eastern Europe of the University of Fribourg.
People's deputies of Ukraine Davyd Arakhamia, Yevgenia Kravchuk (Servant of the People faction), Maria Ionova (European Solidarity faction), Ambassador of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova, Honorary Consul of Ukraine Andrey Luzhnytskyi, deputies of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland Christa Markwalder, Nick Gugger, Nicholas Walder (co-chairs and members of the Switzerland-Ukraine friendship group), representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps and the Ukrainian diaspora took part in the forum.
In his welcoming speech, the Chairman of the National Council, Martin Candinas, expressed his continued support for Ukraine and noted Switzerland's recent accession to the Council of Europe's Register of Damages, which will record the damage caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation.
A ceremony was held to present honorary degrees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the co-chair of the Switzerland-Ukraine friendship group, the deputy of the Swiss Federal Assembly, Christa Markwalder, and the Honorary Consul of Ukraine Andrey Luzhnytskyi. On behalf of the highest legislative body of Ukraine, the head of the "Servant of the People" faction, David Arakhamia, thanked him for his personal, long-term contribution to the development of Ukrainian-Swiss interparliamentary cooperation and the promotion of a positive image of Ukraine.
The forum discussed such important issues as joint resistance to armed Russian aggression, full restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, return of children deported by the aggressor, ensuring Switzerland's proactive position in supporting Ukraine, in particular by easing existing legal restrictions on the re-export of weapons and military equipment, Switzerland's participation in the development of an effective mechanism for attracting blocked Russian assets to compensate for the damages caused to Ukraine and to rebuild our state.
An important role in the Forum was played by the delegation of the Coordinating Staff on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The participants of the discussion had the opportunity to get "first-hand" information about the flagrant practices of the Russian aggressor in the treatment of prisoners of war and civilian hostages. The attention of those present was once again drawn to the need to maximize the use of existing international mechanisms for the return of all Ukrainians from Russian captivity.