Milanović says he will not allow Croatian soldiers to participate in missions in Ukraine

The Croatian President has long held the position that Croatia should not be directly involving itself in the conflict in Ukraine. This has frequently earned him criticism from the Croatian Prime Minister, who labelled the president as being pro-Russian.

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, President Zoran Milanović made it clear that he will not consent to members of the Croatian Armed Forces participating in any NATO activities in Ukraine. This means that a decision to send Croatian soldiers to Ukraine can now only be made with a two-thirds majority in parliament: "As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces I will not allow the participation of members of our armed forces in this kind of mission, which could potentially have harmful consequences on Croatia's national interests, regardless of the fact that government earlier, of its own volition, assumed this obligation in Croatia's name, knowing full well that it did not have my approval, and that by doing so they were in breach of the constitution. Croatia is helping Ukraine and will continue to do so. However, that help cannot be in the form of any kind of participation of members of the Croatian Armed Forces. So long as I am President and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, I will not allow the participation of Croatian soldiers in these kinds of activities. Because this represents a departure from the framework of Croatia's national interests, and potentially threatens all of her people."

Meanwhile, Mark Rutte officially assumed office as the new Secretary General of NATO today. The 57 year-old former Dutch Prime Minister replaces Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who held the post for ten years. Rutte vowed to pressure member states to increase defense spending and added that Ukraine will remain a priority: "So it is for me a great honor to follow you as Secretary General. We both believe that a strong trans-Atlantic bond is the foundation of our alliance, and I can assure you, I will do my utmost to ensure that it will stay rock solid. Our deterrence and defense, we have to spend more, we have increase our collective defense. But one thing will not change Jens, and that is NATO's core mission, and that is to make sure that we defend our people, our nations."

Source: HRT