Will Croatia vote for or against Ukraine?

In Zagreb, President Milanović and Prime Minister Plenković are arguing about whether or not Croatia should provide military support to Ukraine. Now everything boils down to a showdown in Parliament.

EThe ongoing conflict between President Zoran Milanović, in office since 2020, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, first elected in 2016, has shaped Croatian domestic politics for the past two years. Foreign policy issues are increasingly being discussed, most recently (and not for the first time this year) Ukraine. Milanović takes positions on this that are similar to what is known in Germany from left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht or AfD party leader Tino Chrupalla.

Croatia should not get involved in the war, there must be peace immediately, the president has repeatedly warned. Most recently, the question was whether Croatia should participate in the EU’s military assistance mission to support the Ukrainian army. Plenković and his Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, both from the ruling party Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ for short, spoke out in favor of participation early on and agreed to do so. The main issue is the training of around 100 Ukrainian soldiers by Croatian officers in Croatia or in third countries.