If Europe had had a stronger role, maybe the war in Ukraine would not have happened, President Zoran Milanovic said on Wednesday, expressing support for Ukrainians who are defending themselves against the Russian invasion.

“I feel terribly sorry this has happened. One cannot say anything else but express support for a successful defence,” Milanovic told reporters during a visit to Pakrac, where he attended an event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1991-95 war in the area of that western Slavonian town.

“It is practically impossible to take a big city without completely destroying it, if people are willing to defend it,” Milanovic said, recalling that the Iraqi city of Mosul had been defended for eight months before it fell.

Close to 700,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the EU territory.

The Croatian president said that it was a question for the government if Croatia was ready to take in Ukrainian refugees, noting that he could say that “we are morally ready for it.”

“There is an information blockade. The Russian side is releasing what it wants, and that is very little. The other side actually does not know much,” Milanovic said, adding that Croatian ambassadors could not do much either, notably the ambassador in Moscow because Russia shared little information.

PM Andrej Plenkovic said earlier on Wednesday that Croatia’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Anica Djamic, had left Kyiv and was on her way to Lvov.

Milanovic said that “one should always be concerned” when anyone threatens the use of nuclear weapons, and that that “would be the end of the world.”

He added however he does not believe that will happen now.

Answering a reporter’s question, Milanovic said that he had not spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that he did not know how it could help and that it was too late to send peace messages.

“I would not want the conflict to move to cities because if it does, it will become horrible,” he added.

Milanovic expressed confidence that the war could be ended only by Ukraine and Russia or Russia and the USA, adding, “This is their conflict”.

“If Berlin and Paris had been in charge, and they could not do it, war would not have happened… the Minsk Agreement was not implemented, who is to blame?” he said.

“If Europe had had a stronger role in this, and it was incapable of it, this conflict might not have happened,” said Milanovic.

There is no threat to Croatia

Milanovic noted that PM Plenkovic should not have said that the level of the army’s preparedness had been raised.

“That has caused alarm in the public. This is a serious matter… the level of the army’s readiness has not been raised and will not be in the current circumstances. The army operates as in normal conditions, there is a slightly higher degree of protection, but that is within the remit of the Armed Forces’ Chief-of-Staff,” Milanovic said, explaining that “this means one more guard.”

“That has nothing to do with a more serious or any threat to Croatia. That has not occurred for the time being and will not occur,” he said.

Milanovic noted that at present he did not see any reason for holding a session of the National Security Council and that Croatia should focus more on the rights of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

‘Bosnia and Kosovo deserve EU candidate status too’

The presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia said in an open letter on Monday that Ukraine deserves the prospect of immediate EU membership.

In addition to Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, too, deserve EU candidate status, Milanovic said today.

“I was willing to sign (the letter) only if that status was granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo,” with the latter not having been recognised by all EU members, said Milanovic.

He added that Croatia “wishes Bosnia well” and that Sarajevo should understand that.

Milanovic also called for making a decision to launch accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia “which the EU has been mistreating for years”, noting that this “is equally important to Croatia as Ukraine.”

In a direct message to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, Milanovic said that “it would be good if they returned to Bosnian institutions” and that he could soon phone him.

“Republika Srpska cannot get out of Bosnia, that’s impossible… They belong in the West, the Serb people belong in the West, not in Russia,” he added.

As for Belgrade, Milanovic said that now was time for it to decide where it belonged, “whether it is the EU or, for sentimental reasons which I can understand, Russia.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic does not want to introduce sanctions against Russia, but has said that Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine.