Crisis management in the event of a nuclear incident
In a meeting held at the end of September, the Federal Council, together with the DDPS, defined a crisis organization to ensure an effective and rapid response in the event of an incident.
In its current assessment of the situation, the DDPS considers it unlikely that Russia will use nuclear weapons or deliberately cause a nuclear accident in connection with the war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, if a nuclear event were to occur in Ukraine, it would represent a crisis of great magnitude, complexity, and, in particular, temporal urgency. To ensure a rapid and effective response in the event of an incident, the Federal Council defined the crisis organization and leadership at the end of September.
The Federal Council has therefore authorized the DDPS to set up the Federal Civil Protection Staff as the Federal Strategic Command Staff (SFB) in the event of a nuclear incident or if such an incident becomes imminent. This is headed by the DDPS Secretary General. The secretaries general of all departments, the speaker of the Federal Council, the directors of the FOPH, the FOCP, the FOCA and the SFOE, a representative of the armed forces and the secretaries general of the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD) and the Intergovernmental Conference on Military, Civil Defence and Fire Services (RK MZF) are members of the SFB.
According to the Confederation, no new and parallel structures will be created. The directors' conference of the Federal Civil Protection Staff (BSTB) will be composed on an event-specific basis to ensure efficient crisis management. The responsibilities and competencies are located with the individual federal agencies.
Source: VBS/Editorial Office
