The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Croatian Ambassador Anica Dzamic following Croatian President Zoran Milanović's statement on Tuesday that 'Ukraine does not belong in NATO' and other remarks he made during a visit to a chocolate factory in Zagreb.

Milanovic said on Tuesday that Croatia would not have a military presence in Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion, that the events in Ukraine of 2014, known as the Revolution of Dignity, were a military coup, that Europe had not done enough to assist Kyiv, and that the tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border were a consequence of the US home policy.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian ministry said Milanovic’s statements on 2014 had “insulted the feelings of Ukrainians and foreign nationals who gave their lives for a European future.”

“Deep disappointment was expressed with the Croatian president’s statement on Ukraine’s NATO membership and the inappropriateness of assisting our country during the Russian aggression,” the ministry said.

It was underlined that the statement was especially contradictory to human values given the bitter war experience of the Croatian people, it added.

The ministry finds that Milanovic expressed “contempt and ingratitude” for the assistance Ukraine provided during Croatia’s struggle for independence and in the fight against devastating wildfires last year.

“At the same time, we are confident that this ingratitude is his personal trait and that it does not extend to the Croatian people, with whom we are linked by friendship and mutual respect,” the ministry said.

It added that Milanovic’s statements suited Russian propaganda narratives, that they were not in line with Croatia’s official position, that they harmed bilateral relations and undermined EU and NATO unity.

The ministry demands “a public denial of the insulting statements” and that they not be repeated in future, and said that the Ukrainian ambassador would react in Zagreb.