The war in Ukraine has taken a catastrophic turn from the very beginning, "for which we are all responsible", declared Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Tuesday in Tivat (Montenegro) and reiterated that NATO is entering the war in Ukraine with its new NSATU mission.

“From day one, the war has developed in a direction that is undesirable and catastrophic for Ukraine. Half a million people have been killed or wounded, and now what? Are another 50,000 people to be killed or maimed? Will that satisfy anyone’s appetite – be it Washington or Moscow – is that enough?” Milanovic asked, referring to NATO’s latest mission, Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, which he had previously described as NATO’s entry into the war.

“Those who want war can send their own children to fight”

“All of us – myself included – have brought Ukraine into this catastrophic situation. The country is destroyed and this must stop as soon as possible,” emphasised Milanovic at a joint press conference after the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit.

He called on “those who want war” to send their own children to fight. He called for the conflict to be resolved diplomatically and warned that it “will not end well for those who waged it on the Western side.”

Milanovic emphasised that “now,” more than two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “someone has decided” to involve NATO in the conflict.

“The NSATU mission is one through which NATO is being drawn into the war. Operational planning for war needs in real time means entering the conflict,” he emphasised.

The NSATU mission was decided at the Washington Summit in July this year. The mission will consist of around 700 personnel from NATO member states and partner countries, with the entire operation being coordinated from Wiesbaden.

Will Croatian troops go to Ukraine?

In recent days, a disagreement has broken out between Milanovic and the government, which wants to send up to five officers to participate in NSATU. The government claims that the activities will be carried out in Wiesbaden, while Milanovic claims that Croatian soldiers will also be sent to Ukraine.

“Whoever tries to hide this is misleading the public, because citizens have a right to know,” Milanovic said, adding that a large majority of Croats have long rejected any active involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

He reiterated that he would not authorise Croatia’s participation in NSATU. “As long as I am president and commander-in-chief, I will not authorise it. I will not give my approval,” he emphasised once again.

“If there is a parliamentary majority that takes on this responsibility, as provided for in the constitution, I will not say ‘go ahead’, but I will accept it,” he added.

The proposal on training support for Ukraine, which Milanovic rejects, will now be submitted to the Croatian parliament, where a two-thirds majority is required for approval.

“How much more can we teach the Ukrainians how to fight after more than two years of bloody war… Ukrainians now have a doctorate in this field,” says Milanovic.

No difference between Putin and Netanyahu

Milanovic expressed his “contempt” for Moscow and declared that for him both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “are “suspects and defendants before the International Criminal Court – there is no difference.”

He condemned the Israeli retaliatory measures following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, calling them “barbaric repression without any accountability”

He praised Slovenia for recognising Palestine and criticised Croatia for not doing the same due to “the “accountability artists in power”

Milanovic took part in the Brdo-Brijuni Process summit, a joint Croatian-Slovenian initiative aimed at improving cooperation between the south-east European countries and bringing them closer to the EU.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic hosted the summit of this initiative, which was launched in 2013. Milanovic and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc-Musar co-chaired the event, which was also attended by the heads of state and government of five other south-east European countries. Montenegro is hosting the initiative for the second time.