Croatia will host a Balkans leaders summit on Ukraine next week, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set to attend, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced on Thursday. The summit will take place in Dubrovnik on Wednesday.

The goal of the meeting is to rally regional support for Ukraine in its fight for freedom, Plenkovic stated during a government session. This summit follows the "Ukraine-Southeast Europe" summit held in Tirana, Albania, in February, where Zelensky urged greater backing for Ukraine’s defense efforts.

Croatia's Role in Supporting Ukraine

The Dubrovnik summit comes amid a domestic dispute between Plenkovic's government and President Zoran Milanovic, who recently refused to support sending Croatian officers to train Ukrainian soldiers in a NATO mission in Germany. Milanovic, despite being the country’s supreme commander, opposed the move, citing concerns about dragging Croatia into war. Plenkovic called on lawmakers to overturn the president's decision, which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament.