Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic extended a congratulatory message on Saturday, on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of War Veterans, observed on August 5, underscoring the soldiers' determination in the fight for Croatia's freedom.

The prime minister said that the soldiers’ determination was a signpost for the strengthening of an organised and advanced society which offers equal opportunities to all, adding that such society would not have been possible had it not been for Operation Storm.

“Twenty-three years ago, owing to the self-sacrifice of Croatian soldiers and wisdom of the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, the largest part of temporarily occupied Croatian territory was liberated in the military and police Operation Storm, in only four days,” Plenkovic said, adding that Operation Storm had also permanently changed the balance of forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was a prerequisite for the Dayton-Paris peace accords.

Best wishes were also extended by Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic who said that deep respect and gratitude for war veterans’ sacrifice should be a permanent obligation and the Homeland War the foundation of modern Croatia.