Swiss armed forces chief and top spy to step down
Thomas Suessli handed in his resignation as head of the armed forces at the end of January, public broadcaster SRF and newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung reported, citing sources, although he would remain in office until the end of 2025.
Christian Dussey, who heads the Federal Intelligence Service, has also resigned but will remain in office until the end of March 2026, the publications reported.
Priska Seiler-Graf, the president of the security committee of the lower Swiss house of parliament, confirmed the departures to Swiss news agency SDA.
The defence department declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The departures come at a sensitive time for the Swiss defence establishment, which has come under fire for delays to key projects as it aims to build its defence capacities following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this year Suessli said he was concerned about the delays of various projects, including military drones from Israel.
The defence department is also waiting for a new civilian head, after Minister Viola Amherd resigned in January, with her successor in the Swiss cabinet still to be decided.
In another blow for the defence establishment, the Swiss Federal Audit Office on Monday revealed suspected cases of fraud at state-owned Swiss armaments group Ruag MRO and estimated financial damages "in the high double-digit million range."
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When dealing with rogue states, being pessimistic often means being realistic. The much-anticipated summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin last week allowed the Russian leader to relish the bright Alaskan lights of summitry with Trump, buy the precious commodity of time, all while maintaining his ambition to defeat Ukraine. Amidst this week's numerous meetings between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a resolution to the Ukraine war remains elusive. But we must not forget that hours before Trump and Putin met in Alaska, another high-level meeting took place in Pyongyang between Kim Jong Un and the Chairman of Russia's state Duma. It was a stark reminder that ending the Ukraine war on the battlefield is not going to end the ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. 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In South Korea, 15 August marks the day the country became a separate state to the communist North in 1948 and often witnesses the South Korean president outlining their vision for inter-Korean relations and, of course, their relations with Japan. Hours before Trump and Putin were to meet, the visit by yet another confidante of Putin to Pyongyang only stressed how the Ukraine war is not over and any deal acceptable to all sides is a long way off. It was not just Trump who would roll out the red carpet for Putin. Kim Jong Un would do the same to Vyacheslav Volodin, who would later deliver a letter to the North Korean leader from Putin himself, thanking him for North Korea's military support in his fight against Ukraine. This week's meetings between Trump, Zelenskyy, and European Union leaders make clear that whilst the interests most directly at stake in the war remain those of Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington, there are other parties. 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For as long as we must wait for the next Trump-Putin or Trump-Kim meeting – in Moscow or elsewhere – Russia and its allies will not relent in forging a 'coalition of the willing', united in their opposition of the United States, its allies, and its leadership of international order. For this reason, the West cannot capitulate.
