Government wants command centre in case of ‘nuclear event’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, and has said Russia will use "all means necessary" to defend its territory. Keystone / Gavriil Grigorovsputnik/kremlin

The Swiss government on Friday laid out responsibilities in case of a nuclear attack or nuclear disaster linked to the war in Ukraine.

While the defence ministry currently considers this unlikely, the government says it is necessary to be prepared and be able to react rapidly.

It has tasked the defence ministry to set up a Federal Strategic Command Staff if there were to be such an event or it looked likely. This Command Staff will be headed by the secretary-general of the defence ministry and include the secretary generals of all the ministries, the federal government spokesperson, heads of the federal health, civil defence, energy and other key offices as well as representatives of the army, police and fire brigade.

The Command Staff will be responsible notably for “continuing analysis of the situation so that any required measures can be taken rapidly”, according to a government press releaseExternal link, and for “coordination and planning of short, medium and long-term intervention, in collaboration with the competent bodies”. 

This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday declared four regions of Ukraine to be Russian following “referenda” which Western countries including Switzerland denounced as illegal. Putin has threatened that nuclear power Russia will use “all means necessary” to defend its territory.  

Energy taskforce

On Friday, the government also decided on a special taskforce in the event of a serious shortage of gas and electricity this winter, as well as a “Single Point of Contact” for the cantons.  The authorities have already taken a series of measures to try to head off an energy crisis linked to the Ukraine war and Russian gas supply disruption.