NATO Country’s Prime Minister Labels President ‘Putin’s poodle’
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has criticized President Zoran Milanovic for declining to deploy troops to NATO's mission in Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has strongly criticized President Zoran Milanovic for his refusal to send troops to NATO’s mission in Ukraine, labeling him and his administration as “Putin’s poodles.”
The discussion around potentially deploying Croatian troops to the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command, which coordinates military assistance to Kyiv, has sparked intense debate between Plenkovic and Milanovic over recent weeks.
As part of a support package agreed upon by NATO leaders during a summit in July, Croatia was expected to contribute two officers to the 700-strong NSATU staff in Germany to assist in training Ukrainian soldiers. Milanovic, who while having limited powers is the commander of the country’s armed forces, has blocked this move, arguing that it could “draw Croatia into a war.”
The ruling coalition in Croatia sought to challenge the president’s decision but has so far struggled to secure a parliamentary vote on the issue, lacking the necessary two-thirds majority support.
“They don’t want Croatia to help Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression and that’s where it all ends, they become Putin’s poodles, which is very bad for Croatian democracy, they are destroying it this way,” Plenkovic remarked on Tuesday, referencing Milanovic and his administration. He accused the president of “manipulating” the public with claims about the move potentially endangering national security and Croatia’s standing as a NATO member. Plenkovic described the discussions regarding troop contributions to NATO’s Ukraine mission as a “search for an alibi for supporting Russia.”
Following Plenkovic’s remarks, lawmakers reignited the debate, with MP Marijan Pavlicek commenting that the prime minister seemed “more like the prime minister of Ukraine than Croatia” due to his push for Croatian troop involvement in the NATO mission.
To assist in resolving the ongoing political dispute, NATO’s acting deputy secretary general, Boris Ruge, visited Zagreb in late October. He clarified that the NSATU would not send any NATO troops to Ukraine and reiterated earlier assurances from the US-led bloc that supporting Kyiv’s military efforts does not make NATO a party to the conflict. Nevertheless, Milanovic maintained that such a deployment would be “out of bounds for Croatian national interests.”
Milanovic has consistently expressed criticism of NATO’s strategy in arming Ukraine to counter Russia, characterizing the conflict as a NATO proxy war against Moscow. In contrast, Croatia’s right-wing government has been supplying military aid to Ukraine since 2023. The Defense Ministry recently announced plans to send dozens of older tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in exchange for a discount on the acquisition of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
The discussion around potentially deploying Croatian troops to the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command, which coordinates military assistance to Kyiv, has sparked intense debate between Plenkovic and Milanovic over recent weeks.
As part of a support package agreed upon by NATO leaders during a summit in July, Croatia was expected to contribute two officers to the 700-strong NSATU staff in Germany to assist in training Ukrainian soldiers. Milanovic, who while having limited powers is the commander of the country’s armed forces, has blocked this move, arguing that it could “draw Croatia into a war.”
The ruling coalition in Croatia sought to challenge the president’s decision but has so far struggled to secure a parliamentary vote on the issue, lacking the necessary two-thirds majority support.
“They don’t want Croatia to help Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression and that’s where it all ends, they become Putin’s poodles, which is very bad for Croatian democracy, they are destroying it this way,” Plenkovic remarked on Tuesday, referencing Milanovic and his administration. He accused the president of “manipulating” the public with claims about the move potentially endangering national security and Croatia’s standing as a NATO member. Plenkovic described the discussions regarding troop contributions to NATO’s Ukraine mission as a “search for an alibi for supporting Russia.”
Following Plenkovic’s remarks, lawmakers reignited the debate, with MP Marijan Pavlicek commenting that the prime minister seemed “more like the prime minister of Ukraine than Croatia” due to his push for Croatian troop involvement in the NATO mission.
To assist in resolving the ongoing political dispute, NATO’s acting deputy secretary general, Boris Ruge, visited Zagreb in late October. He clarified that the NSATU would not send any NATO troops to Ukraine and reiterated earlier assurances from the US-led bloc that supporting Kyiv’s military efforts does not make NATO a party to the conflict. Nevertheless, Milanovic maintained that such a deployment would be “out of bounds for Croatian national interests.”
Milanovic has consistently expressed criticism of NATO’s strategy in arming Ukraine to counter Russia, characterizing the conflict as a NATO proxy war against Moscow. In contrast, Croatia’s right-wing government has been supplying military aid to Ukraine since 2023. The Defense Ministry recently announced plans to send dozens of older tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in exchange for a discount on the acquisition of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
