Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Tuesday criticized Croatian President Zoran Milanovic for saying Crimea would never again be under Ukrainian control.
In remarks on Monday outlining his objection to providing military aid to Zagreb KievMilanovic said it was “clear that Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again.”
“We consider the statements made by the President of Croatia, which questions the territorial integrity of Ukraine, to be unacceptable,” wrote Oleg Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry. Facebook.
Milanovic stated on Monday that it is “crazy” to think so Russia can be defeated in a conventional war and for which Western countries are criticized Supply Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has protested the West’s supply of military aid and weapons to Ukraine, despite his country being part of NATO.
The US will send about 31 of its M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, US President Biden announced on January 25, 2023. The move comes after Germany agreed to send its Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries with stockpiles of Leopard 2s to do the same.
Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital Zagreb that military aid from Western countries is on the rise Kiev pointless and will only prolong the conflict.
“I am against sending lethal weapons there, it prolongs the war,” Milanovic said of the West’s attempt to help Ukraine end Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion.
‘What is the goal? Disintegration of Russia, change of government? There is also talk of tearing Russia apart. This is insane,” he added.
Milanovic also declared today that Crimea – the peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 – will never be returned to Kiev.
What the West is doing with Ukraine “is deeply immoral because there is no solution (to the war),” Milanovic told reporters while visiting the military barracks in the eastern city of Petrinja.
It is clear that Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to restore Ukrainian rule over Crimea, arguing that the peninsula belongs to Ukraine and that the annexation was not recognized by most countries.
Milanovic won the 2019 presidential election in Croatia as a left-wing liberal candidate, a counterpoint to the conservative government currently in power in the European Union and NATO member state.
But he has since turned to populist nationalism and criticized Western policies towards both Russia and the Balkans.
Milanovic has earned a reputation for being a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, something he has routinely denied.
Yet in recent months he has openly opposed Finland and Sweden joining NATO, as well as refusing to host training for Ukrainian troops in Croatia.
In December, Croatian lawmakers rejected a proposal that the country join a European Union mission in support of the Ukrainian military, reflecting deep divisions between Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
After months of hesitation, the US said last week it would send 31 of its 70-ton Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Milanovic (left) shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in December 2020
Milanovic declared today: “It is clear that Crimea will never be part of Ukraine again.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) has vowed to restore Ukrainian rule over Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video-linked meeting with the governor of the Vologda region at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on January 30, 2023
Berlin will initially deliver at least 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine (file image), allowing other countries with stockpiles of Leopard 2s to do the same
Germany announced it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks and let other countries do the same.
The increase in military aid in the form of heavy armor came after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to send a battalion of Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev.
But the move was hotly opposed by Milanovic, despite his loyalty to all three countries through NATO.
He seemed to complain that the United States could send military aid to Kiev without repercussions, while European countries are forced to shoulder the burden.
“From 2014 to 2022, we are watching someone provoke Russia with the intention of starting this war,” he said today.
‘What is the purpose of this war? A war against a nuclear power at war in another country? Is there a conventional way to defeat such a country?’
‘Who pays the price? Europe. America pays the least. A year has passed and we are only now talking about tanks,” Milanovic continued.
Not a single American tank will go to Ukraine in a year. Only German tanks will be sent there.’
While the presidential position in Croatia is largely ceremonial, Milanovic is formally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Ukraine relied on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, but its army will be modernized with the shipment of NATO vehicles
His latest anti-Western outbursts have embarrassed and irritated the country’s government, which has fully supported Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
Milanovic criticized Western countries for applying double standards in international politics, saying Russia would invoke what he called the international community’s “annexation of Kosovo” as an excuse to seize parts of Ukraine.
Milanovic was referring to Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence after a 1998-1999 war in which NATO countries bombed Yugoslavia’s hinterland, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to protect Albanian-majority Kosovo.
“We recognized Kosovo against the will of a state (Serbia) to which Kosovo belonged,” he said, warning that he was not questioning Kosovo’s independence, but the concept of Western double standards.
The Croatian president’s stance against continued Western support for Ukraine came through Russian officials today warned that their country is on the verge of a direct clash with the US and NATO‘.
Russia warned today that it is on “the verge of a direct clash with the US and NATO” and that it is “quite possible” that there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 because of Washington’s efforts to “defeat” Moscow. to inflict. in Ukraine (in the photo is the launch of a nuclear-capable Russian Sarmat missile)
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington’s decision to supply Kiev with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks (pictured) was an “extremely destructive move” that “escalated” the war in Ukraine
They said it is “quite possible” that there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 because of Washington’s efforts to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow in Ukraine.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington’s decision to deliver Kiev with 31 of his fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks was an ‘extremely destructive move’ causing the war in Ukraine to ‘escalate’.
Ryabkov claimed that Washington’s apparent push to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia means that the future of the US-Moscow nuclear arms control treaty is in doubt.
He warned that the last remaining pillar of the treaty could become null and void in 2026 without replacement.