Croatia and Poland will continue to support and stand in solidarity with Ukraine, the Defence Ministers of Croatia and Poland, Mario Banozic and Mariusz Blaszczak respectively said on Thursday in Zagreb.

“Together with Poland and other allies and partners, Croatia will continue to provide strong and comprehensive support to Ukraine,” Banozic said at a joint press conference.

Blaszczak underscored that “it is important to show the solidarity of NATO and EU member states,” since there is “a danger of the restoration of the Russian empire through Russia’s attack on Ukraine.”

The Polish minister stressed that the ties between Warsaw and Zagreb are strong, and praised the countries’ cooperation and added that it should “strengthen the capacity of the EU and NATO.”

Croatia’s Armed Forces have been participating in the activities of the Enhanced Forward Presence in Poland since 2017. In January, the 11th Croatian contingent was sent to Poland along with Panzer howitzers PzH 2000.

Croatian and Polish forces are participating in the NATO mission in Iraq and in the KFOR operation in Kosovo, and in the first half of this year Croatia is participating in the European Union’s battle group under the leadership of Poland, Minister Banozic said who will visit Poland at the end of February.

The ministers discussed the situation in Southeast Europe, and Blaszczak expressed satisfaction with the extension of the Althea mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Polish forces are participating, but not Croatian forces.

“Dangers come not only from the east but also from the south. We want to express solidarity with our allies. That’s how it’s always been, that’s how it is and that’s how it will always be,” he said.

Last year, 1.3 million Poles visited Croatia, and Blaszczak hopes that more and more Poles will spend holidays in Croatia after its entry into the Schengen Area, which, he underlined, Warsaw has always supported.