Swiss Parliament speaker visits Kyiv and Kharkiv

Maja Riniker, speaker of the lower house of Switzerland’s parliament, has visited Ukraine on a multi-day trip during which she visited Kyiv and Kharkiv.

The speaker of Switzerland’s National Council visited Ukraine on 7-8 July, travelling to both Kyiv and Kharkiv.

"In my role as President of the National Council, it is important for me to gain a detailed picture and first-hand information about the situation in Ukraine and the status of Swiss-supported projects," she said on X.

🇨🇭🤝🇺🇦 Nach den gestrigen Treffen in Kyjiw mit dem Vorsitzenden der Werchowna Rada, Ruslan Stefantschuk, und Präsident Wolodymyr Selenski, hat Nationalratspräsidentin @MajaRiniker heute Schweizer Projekte in Charkiw, sowie Vertreter lokaler Behörden besucht: «Diese Treffen sind… pic.twitter.com/Kjeaw0hxn6

– Parl CH (@ParlCH) July 8, 2025

In Kyiv, Riniker met with her Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On the second day, she travelled to Kharkiv, where she spoke with local officials and visited Swiss-funded projects.

Switzerland supports various initiatives in Kharkiv Oblast, including humanitarian aid, demining and vocational training programmes.

In June, Switzerland joined a number of measures under the EU’s 17th package of sanctions against Russia.

The country also plans to begin talks with the EU on defence procurement cooperation.