The invasion of Ukraine is generation-defining. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Sept. 11 attacks are events that made it clear old certainties no longer apply, writes finews.com editor Andreas Britt.

As we learned in the past few days, it is obvious Russian leader Vladimir Putin no longer accepts the rules of coexistence in a civilized world. 

Putin is lying and deceiving and considers promises made in the past as disposable, with contempt for all those who have spent time and effort to discuss the problems of this world with him.

Nuclear Fears Reawakened

His televised address on the morning of the invasion visibly shocked the world, with his threat of a nuclear war if anyone stood to him. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the world has come to accept that the nuclear weapon genie is out of the bottle, but that their use was too terrible to contemplate. With the invasion and Putin’s belligerent talk, that fear is being reawakened.

War rhetoric is one thing. Putin continues to spin the fantasy of reviving the greatness of the former Soviet Union, making it clear that for a great power like Russia, a severance of diplomatic relations by other countries is unacceptable. 

His approach is that of the schoolyard bully. Europe and everyone else has to accept his power, and if everyone does not play along, he is obviously willing to take different and harsher measures.

Let us be crystal clear. Russia has declared war on the democratic right of nations to self-determination. 

History in the Making

The current situation is more reminiscent of Nazi Germany triggering World War II in 1939, with its invasion of Poland, and not the present-day world of 2022.

NATO has been warning for some time that Russia was planning exactly what became a reality Thursday morning. But there is still disbelief because it is difficult to fathom the logic of Russia's actions. Why voluntarily give up prosperity and security? Why invade a neighboring country without provocation?

This lack of understanding and accompanying search for a rationale has been exploited by the Russian ruler. 

The leaders of NATO countries, the EU and their allies are fine-tuning threatened sanctions, with the European Commission President making it clear the sanctions are aimed at severely damaging Russia economically. 

These include cutting access to capital markets and cutting-edge technology, intended on inflicting as much damage as possible as the price for aggression.

Economic retaliation could ultimately lead to a situation similar to that prevailing before the fall of the Berlin Wall by fueling a disentanglement of the states of Europe in economic, cultural and political terms.

There is little doubt sanctions will be swift and increasingly severe, damaging Russia's economic interests not only in Europe but globally. This was made clear to Putin, but it clearly did not deter his actions.

Swiss Indecision Over Sanction Regime

It cannot be ignored that sanctions will also affect the West, posing problems for Europe's energy supply in particular. The oil and gas supply chain will have to be rethought. 

What does all this mean for Switzerland?

The Federal Council was treading very cautiously before the invasion, but that is no longer a luxury Switzerland has, and it cannot avoid staking out a clear position. Even though not part of the European Union, the country belongs to Europe in terms of basic democratic attitude and values.

Switzerland's closest allies will certainly impose massive sanctions against Russia and expect Switzerland to follow suit. Or, at the very least, not to be used as a conduit for circumventing sanctions. This was the key issue with previous sanctions against Russian business interests after the Crimean crisis and it has already come up as the main point of discussion when the government met on Thursday to discuss its response to the Russian aggression.

Sanctions will have major consequences for Switzerland's financial center and industry. While Russian investors' balances in Swiss banks have remained relatively stable over recent years, these represent only a portion of Russia's holdings in Switzerland. But given Moscow’s naked aggression, it would be incomprehensible if Switzerland knowingly undermined sanctions and thus profited from the war.