A metre-high wall of mud and rock came to a halt just in front of the village school.

Despite pressure from Kyiv and its allies, Switzerland has so far refused to allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to re-export it to Ukraine.

The move comes after two sub-committees supported a deeper investigation into how the government, Swiss central bank and financial market regulator acted in the run up to the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse.

The allegations against them, which cover a period from 2009 to 2015, are just the latest development in what has been described as 'the largest ever money laundering case'.

While the government's commitment cannot be overturned, the vote marks a symbolic rebuke for the authorities, whose decision to largely bypass the nation's legislative has angered many politicians.

The decision 'will affect around 1,000 employees, who will be deprived of approximately 50-60 million Swiss francs with these measures,' reports say.

Last month, Swiss authorities announced that UBS would buy Credit Suisse in a shotgun merger to stem further banking turmoil after the smaller lender had come to the brink of collapse.

A poll of Swiss economists found that nearly half think the takeover of Credit Suisse was not the best solution, and warned that the situation had dented Switzerland's reputation as a banking centre.

The men, who cannot be identified under Swiss reporting restrictions, were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich District Court and were given suspended fines totaling hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs.

In January, 55% of the Swiss population favoured closer ties with Nato – up 10 percentage points from a January 2021 survey.

Credit Suisse would be the first major global bank to be given such a lifeline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Credit Suisse is cutting 9,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan announced in October to restore profitability after a series of scandals and losses that have drawn regulatory scrutiny and undermined investors confidence.