Today at 16:02
In Dubrovnik, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković signed an Agreement on Long-Term Cooperation and Support between the two countries.
Croatia has been supporting Ukraine since the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014. The total aid provided since February 2022 amounts to approximately €300 million, including 11 defense packages.
With this agreement, Croatia reaffirms its commitment to supporting Ukraine until victory in the war. Among other things, the agreement covers cooperation between defense industries, identifying prospects for joint defense production, and the localization of projects in Ukraine. The countries will also explore opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the areas of digital resilience, cybersecurity, and intelligence sharing.
A separate section is dedicated to support in humanitarian demining. Croatia has already allocated more than €10 million to this effort and will continue to provide equipment and share expertise. The agreement also touches on mine action, care for veterans, and the prosecution of atrocity crimes, as Croatia has its own experience related to war.
The agreement also includes provisions on assistance in humanitarian, energy, legal, and scientific fields. In addition, Croatia will facilitate bringing Russia to justice and compensating for the damage caused by the aggression. It will also exert sanctions pressure.
Croatia supports Ukraine on its path to the EU and NATO and pledges to continue its efforts to implement the Peace Formula.
During the meeting, the parties discussed in detail how to expedite the delivery of the announced aid packages and the preparation and contents of the next ones.
A separate focus of the conversation was cooperation in the defense sector. Among other things, the parties discussed the contribution to the domestic production of drones.
Other topics of discussion included humanitarian demining and the localization of enterprises in Ukraine. Croatia provides financial support and shares its expertise.
Special attention was paid to the rehabilitation of Ukrainian children and wounded soldiers, European integration and speeding up the negotiation process, as well as Ukraine’s recovery.
Andrej Plenković highlighted Ukraine’s resilience, especially how, despite constant Russian attacks, the country is restoring facilities destroyed by Russian aggression.
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