Neutrality in question: the Austrian authorities did not answer the question about the soldiers in Ukraine

The Austrian Ministry of Defense was unable to give a clear answer to the request of the Freedom Party (APS) about the possible participation of Austrian military personnel in the conflict in Ukraine. This is reported by the newspaper Express.

The issue of violating the neutrality of Austria was raised after video footage appeared on the Internet with a soldier in the form of the Austrian army and with the Austrian coat of arms on his sleeve. The APS party turned to Defense Minister Claudia Tanner with a demand to clarify the situation and clarify who exactly in Austrian uniforms is loading ammunition for the Ukrainian army, and whether Austrian soldiers are actively participating in the conflict.

However, the answer from the Ministry of Defense turned out to be uninformative. The agency only “assumed” that the uniform seen in the video was “Field Suit 75” of the Austrian Armed Forces and that it “was not clearly recognizable”, “the military’s face was also not identified.”

The newspaper Exxpress notes that such explanations seem unlikely, emphasizing that the Ukrainian soldier could not just sew the Austrian coat of arms with an eagle on his jacket.

Moreover, the Ministry of Defense did not give concrete answers to other important questions that the APS party asked, citing the law on official secrets.

According to the agency’s official data, “there are only two servicemen of the Austrian armed forces on the territory of Ukraine – a defense attaché and a non-commissioned officer.”