ZAGREB, 24 March 2022 - Banks have started with preparations or have already introduced technical solutions to secure access to the basic payments account for refugees from Ukraine, the Croatian Banking Association (HUB) has said, noting that according to available information, the number of such requests is not big.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) on Monday informed banks based in Croatia that it expected them to provide free access to a basic payments account, including ten free-of-charge national and international transactions in kuna and euros, for refugees from Ukraine legally staying in Croatia.

The HNB said that one of the most severe consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the resettlement of a large number of civilians. In those conditions, access to basic financial services is a necessary precondition for the normalisation of life for refugees and their integration, the central bank said.

In response to a query from Hina, HUB said that it did not have detailed statistics at present but that according to available information, the number of requests for a basic payments account was not significant.

"As before, banks have started preparations or have already implemented technical solutions to enable access to the basic payments account for Ukrainian refugees," HUB said, noting that the basic payments account enables refugees to use a kuna current account and a related debit card. They can also make payments and withdraw money at bank offices or on ATMs and use internet or mobile banking.

In addition to the minimum ten free national or international transactions in kuna and euros, some banks will offer the refugees additional facilities.

So far, 9,500 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Croatia.

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ZAGREB, 24 March - About 9,500 Ukrainians displaced by the war in their country have found refuge in Croatia, Tomislav Marević of the Civil Protection Directorate said on Thursday.

"These are still mainly women and children, and many of them are accommodated privately," Marević said in an interview with Croatian Radio.

He said he was proud that Croatia had responded in solidarity already in the first weeks of the war and that citizens were taking in displaced persons voluntarily.

He commended the government's decision to finance accommodation for refugees, adding that the Civil Protection Directorate would sign a contract with each user and owner of a property.

Anny Brusić, director of the association of small and medium-sized enterprises at the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), said that the business community was very interested in hiring Ukrainian refugees.

"We need a little more time to get the system going because certain procedures need to be simplified before hiring actually begins. A state authority should say that at this point Ukrainian workers are not required to show a certificate of education or a diploma. Our legislation is rather rigid," Brusić said.

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ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - The Solidarna Foundation on Wednesday reported that it has set up a fund to help refugees fleeing Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion of that country, particularly women and children who have found refuge in Croatia.

The foundation will follow the crisis and use the fund to respond to the needs of refugees and their families in Croatia. It will conduct activities in coordination with civil society groups and public bodies to provide short-term assistance and support as well as long-term support for the refugees.

"That includes an open channel for emergency support to families and field workers in ensuring emergency accommodation, support to humanitarian organisations and coordination with public bodies and NGOs, as well as 'mapping' needs to develop instruments of fast financial support," the foundation said. 

Long-term support includes organising education for refugees, tending to their psycho-social needs and legal support.

More information on how to make a donation is available on the foundation's website.

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ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - The city of Lviv in the west of Ukraine is faced with food and drug shortages as well as a shortage of volunteers to help the newly-arrived refugees who mostly lack safety, Croatian Ambassador to Ukraine Anica Djamić told Hina on Thursday.

More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion on the country two weeks ago.

Djamić said that western Ukraine was faced "with an unprecedented number of refugees". People from the east of the country fleeing daily attacks by Russian forces are trying to reach the west of the country or Lviv as a stop on the way to EU countries, she said.

The ambassador said that everything in Lviv had been put to the service of people in transit to a safer destination, adding that the city's railway station is full of people, notably women, children and the elderly.

The authorities of the Lviv district have set up reception centres where people stay for a shorter or longer period of time, but food, water, medicines and toiletries are in short supply, the ambassador warned pointing also to a shortage of volunteers to distribute aid.

Djamić left Kyiv last week in a UN convoy, and her journey to Lviv, located around 540 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital, lasted four days.

The Croatian ambassador will resume her duties in Lviv.

"We have been in touch with all Croatian nationals in Ukraine whom we inform regularly about possibilities of departure for Croatia," she said, adding that some of them did not want to leave Ukraine but that the embassy was keeping channels for them to leave open. 

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March the 3rd, 2022 - Croatian buses and Croatian companies are all making themselves available with either free transport for Ukrainian refugees or with food and accommodation offers when they arrive in the country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak/Lucija Spiljak writes, the refugee wave of, at this moment in time, half a million people seeking refuge due to the war in Ukraine has activated all institutional mechanisms in the countries of the European Union, and companies are increasingly involved in helping refugees. Croatian buses are also busy transporting those who have fled their country.

Many Croatian companies have become involved in helping refugees with donations of money, materials or the services they provide. In the first step, the help of Croatian buses who can remove refugees from war zones is very important.

Free to Poland

The Association of Croatian Bus Lines announced that they are ready to make part of their fleet with more than 1,000 Croatian buses available. As Drazen Divjak, director of Arriva, explained, Croatian buses are ready to engage their services and drivers for the transport of refugees from the Ukrainian border areas to the safety of the Republic of Croatia.

"We want to give our contribution in manpower and vehicles because it's our responsibility, but also the only way in which refugees can be organised and efficiently transferred from the Ukrainian border to designated locations in Croatia," said Divjak.

They say from FlixBus that their teams are working tirelessly to come to the aid of Ukrainian refugees and offer free transportation across the border in the direction of Poland to all those who need it.

"Several more refugee buses have been added on the lines connecting Ukraine and Poland. In addition, we're additionally transporting all the necessary food and equipment to those in need. Our operational teams are at the border crossings to provide on-site support,'' said Ante Grbesa, the director of the FlixBus CEE South Region.

Humanitarian actions for Ukraine were also launched by Caritas, the Croatian Red Cross and the NGO ADRA Croatia, which made their human resources available and also raised funds. Social media has also been a source of help in the form of offers of accommodation to donations, food and beyond.

The Facebook group "SOS UA Ukraine" has numerous minute-by-minute posts in which Croatian residents are offering transportation and travel services directly to Ukraine in order to transport as many vulnerable Ukrainians as possible. They organise accommodation and all necessities. Additionally, the non-profit organisation Translators without Borders has announced that there is a growing need for translators who speak Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Romanian, Moldovan or German, to whom they have appealed.

7.5 million children in Ukraine are also facing a crisis and danger, so UNICEF is trying to step up its efforts to provide all the necessary humanitarian aid, as well as psychosocial support for children. Regina Castillo, Head of the UNICEF Office for Croatia, sent an appeal to Croatian residents, companies and the media to help the children of Ukraine with their donations.

Constant contact

The Croatian IT company Span, which also has an office in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, which is currently under siege, has expressed great concern, and they are in constant contact with 32 of their Ukrainian colleagues.

“Span immediately activated its crisis team, which aims to help our employees and their families in the most efficient way possible. This primarily includes assistance in reception, transportation, accommodation in Croatia, psychological assistance as well as assistance when it comes to bureaucratic affairs,'' they explained from Span.

Just like after the devastating earthquake in Banovina at the end of December 2020, chefs from the initiative "The chef is cooking at home" became active to help refugees arriving in Zagreb. Brodosplit provided a temporary home and food for two of the seven Ukrainian workers employed by the DIV Group company who arrived yesterday from Lviv and Ternopil.

Croatian companies are also trying to provide Ukrainians with a place to work when they arrive in Croatia. As such, the Bruketa & Zinic & Gray agency announced that it could provide office space for four Ukrainian designers/illustrators and help them find accommodation in Zagreb.

The Ministry of Tourism is also taking care of the accommodation of refugees, and Minister Nikolina Brnjac held a meeting with hoteliers recently during which she invited private Croatian renters/landlords who want to help reluctant Ukrainians to contact them with their options and offers by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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