Croatian president reaffirms no troops will be sent to Ukraine

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Monday reaffirmed that his country will not send troops to Ukraine.

"I have received a mandate from the Croatian people to uphold this position, and therefore I repeat that Croatian soldiers will not participate in other countries’ wars," Milanovic wrote on social media.

His remarks came a day after the virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing leaders.

He criticized Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's participation in Coalition of the Willing discussions, underlining that his country is "bound only" by the obligations arising from its EU and NATO membership.

"Croatia has no obligations stemming from political or military agreements among the leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, and the Government of the Republic of Croatia is not authorized by anyone to push Croatia into any new coalitions that could involve the participation of Croatian soldiers in the war in Ukraine," Milanovic added.

The meeting of the Coalition of the Willing leaders was co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Coalition of the Willing reaffirmed support for Ukraine and hailed Zelenskyy's "desire" for a just and lasting peace ahead of his meeting with US President Trump in Washington, DC.