Zelensky due at Balkans-Ukraine summit in Croatia: PM

Croatia will host a Balkans leaders summit on Ukraine next week, which will also be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Croatia’s prime minister, said Thursday.

The aim of the meeting, to be held in the southern Adriatic resort of Dubrovnik, is that the “whole region support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the fight for freedom”, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a regular government session.

He did not reveal the date of the meeting but government sources and local media reports say it is scheduled for Wednesday.

The previous “Ukraine-Southeast Europe” summit took place in February in Albania’s capital Tirana.

Zelensky attended that gathering and called for greater backing to help fend off Russian forces, with his frontline troops suffering from a shortage of ammunition.

On Thursday, speaking alongside NATO’s new chief in Kyiv, Zelensky said his country was trying to convince its Western backers to shoot down Russian missiles and drones fired on Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Trump accuses Zelensky of refusing to strike a deal on war

The summit in the Croatian coastal city of Dubrovnik would take place amid a domestic row between the government and populist President Zoran Milanovic over Ukraine.

Milanovic refused on Tuesday to back the government’s proposal to send Croatian officers to a NATO mission in Germany to train Ukrainian soldiers.

Milanovic, whose powers are limited but is the supreme commander of the country’s armed forces, said on Facebook that he would not allow Croatian soldiers to “participate in activities that push Croatia into war”.

The prime minister accused Milanovic of acting against national interests.

He called on lawmakers to reverse the president’s decision, which would require a two-thirds majority vote in parliament.