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Croatia denies sending its citizens to fight in Donbas

The statement issued by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasises that the departure of volunteers to the battlefield is not associated with any government institutions

BELGRADE, February 13. /TASS/. Croatia’s Foreign Ministry has refuted allegations on Friday that the country has sent its citizens to fight in Ukraine’s south-east. Thus official Zagreb has responded to Russian Foreign Ministry’s concern in connection with the fact that Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić confirmed that Croatian volunteers were involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine on the side of Kiev’s security forces. "As far as I know, there are Croatian soldiers in Ukraine who joined the Ukrainian Army," she said on February 11.

The statement issued by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasises that the state in no way supports the volunteers who are fighting in Ukraine, and their departure to the battlefield is not associated with any government institutions. The document urges the Croats and foreign fighters to return to their countries to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk agreement [signed by Normandy four leaders] "as soon as possible."

Croatian media reports say that dozens of Croats have joined the Ukrainian battalion Azov, half of which are foreigners.