ZAGREB, 5 March (Hina) - More than 1,500 Ukrainian refugees arrived in Croatia by 7 a.m. Saturday, sources at the Red Cross Croatia (HCK) said.

The primary place of accommodation for the refugees is Motel Plitvice in Zagreb, but it has been filled to capacity and the refugees are now provided with accommodation at the Rakitje Hostel, Croatian Television said on Saturday.

Many of the refugees are deciding to stay at Motel Plitvice because they do not have any alternative plan.

HCK spokeswoman Katarina Zorić told Croatian Television that 119 Ukrainian refugees had found accommodation in Zagreb, 34 in Varaždin and 18 in Osijek.

Other reception locations are being considered as well, she said.

"The circumstances are horrible, but everyone has been putting a lot of effort into this, many do not know where to go, while some have found temporary accommodation. They are afraid to leave because they do not know their status, and here they will be able to obtain information faster and more easily. The refugees are mostly women and children, and there is among them a father with five children. Those who have three or more children are allowed to leave Ukraine," Zorić said.

Even though the refugees accommodated at Motel Plitvice have everything they need, citizens are coming and delivering aid, she said.

To help them think less about the tragedy in Ukraine, the refugee children will today be taken to the Zagreb Zoo.

Red Cross Croatia team visiting Ukraine, Romania, Hungary 

This weekend a team of the Red Cross Croatia is visiting Ukraine, Romania and Hungary, touring, with colleagues from those countries and members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), border crossings and preparing for the establishment of a major logistic centre in Ukraine.

The centre should facilitate the reception of humanitarian aid that has been arriving from all over the world, HCK said.

ZAGREB, 3 March 2022 - Croatia's government on Thursday decided to send a convoy with HRK 1.8 million worth of goods and equipment to Moldova after the country took in a considerable number of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

Moldova has asked international organizations for help in accommodating the Ukrainian refugees.

Earlier in the day, the head of the Civil Protection Directorate, Damir Trut, announced in an interview with Croatian Radio that Croatia would send a humanitarian aid convoy to Moldova to help it cope with the influx of Ukrainian refugees.

The aid will include tents, beds, and other items for the accommodation of refugees, he said.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Osijek City authorities have proposed to the Kyiv Zoo that its animals could be transferred to and accepted in the Osijek Zoo, the mayor of the eastern Croatian city, Ivan Radić, said on Tuesday.

Radić held a meeting with the "Lesja Ukrajinka" association of ethnic Ukrainians in eastern Croatia and they visited the reception centre the city has prepared for Ukrainian refugees.

There are three families with 16 members in the centre already and they have been registered to be assigned refugee status. They are currently being accommodated with their friends in Osijek's suburb of Tenja and in Vukovar-Srijem County.

Earlier in the day, another family with three children also arrived in Osijek, and once they are registered they will travel to Požega to be accommodated with their friends.

Osijek residents have expressed their willingness to accept refugees, and hotels and hostels have also made their capacities available for the reception of refugees, the mayor said.

Representatives of the Osijek Public Transport company (GPP) are in contact with the Red Cross to send the company's vehicles to the border to transport Ukrainian refugees to Osijek, if necessary.

Ukrainians will be able to use Osijek public transport services free of charge.

We want the war to end and we wish Ukrainians outside their homeland to be able to return to their homes as soon as possible, said Radić.

The head of the association, Oksana Martinjuk, thanked the local authorities for their great support and aid.

ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Tuesday that due to the escalation of the war in Ukraine even larger waves of Ukrainian refugees were expected, with UNHCR estimating that around 4-5 million refugees could arrive in the EU.

"Most of the refugees who are arriving are being provided with accommodation by their relatives and friends. Judging by the situation on Ukraine's borders with its neighbours Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, the numbers are growing. We are also preparing for a meeting of the Council of Home Affairs Ministers, to be held on Thursday," Božinović said in Jastrebarsko near Zagreb, at an event marking World Civil Defence Day.

The minister said the ministerial meeting in Brussels would discuss the coordination of the EU in the Ukraine crisis.

"Larger refugee waves are expected. According to some UNHCR estimates, 4-5 million people could arrive in the EU. Around eight million internally displaced. The war is still going on. At the moment it is difficult to predict that the fighting and aggression on Ukraine will end soon," Božinović said.

He stressed that Croatia would organise itself so it can do its best in the interest of people in need.

Asked how many refugees Croatia could take in, the minister said it was difficult to speak about specific figures.

"Croatia will respond in the best way possible. I can see some countries are mentioning specific figures, not many are doing so, the situation is such that whatever we say today may become irrelevant tomorrow," he said, noting that Croatia has plans for thousands, tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Noting that Red Cross Croatia and the Civil Protection Directorate would be in charge of coordinating the process, Božinović said that many citizens were coming forward and offering help in providing accommodation for the refugees, while he advised them to contact the competent authorities.

Božinović said that a decision had already been made to send humanitarian aid but noted that the most important thing is how neighbouring countries where logistical centres would be set up, are organised.

"This primarily refers to Poland, and I guess also to Slovakia, from where the collected aid will be sent to people in Ukraine who need it. A European response is critical. How much aid will be necessary depends on the needs. Some neighbouring countries are also already in need of aid because they are faced with a major influx of refugees," he stressed.

He reported that Croatia had been contacted by Moldova and that certain decisions would be made soon in that regard.

"More than 50,000 refugees have arrived in that country so far, the country's economic situation is such that it can hardly cope with such a large influx of refugees on its own. In any case, this is a crisis in terms of armed conflict, aggression and war, but this is also a humanitarian crisis of a scope not seen since World War II," said Božinović.

ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - There are currently 18 Ukrainian refugees at the Plitvice Motel in Zagreb, three accommodation facilities in the city have been prepared for the reception of refugees and additional capacities are being discussed, Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said on Tuesday.

"A total of 344 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Croatia so far," the mayor said, noting that the city administration was communicating intensively with the competent services regarding the reception of refugees.

Tomašević noted that refugees were arriving and continuing on to further destinations, with many of them finding accommodation with their relatives.

The mayor said that a much bigger refugee wave was expected once organised transport was established.

The city currently has 200-300 beds available for the refugees, which is more than enough for the time being, he said, noting that other services were also available by city health institutions, including epidemiological protection, psychological assistance and general health care.

ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Red Cross Croatia on Tuesday made a fundraising appeal for Ukrainian  refugees and displaced persons following Russia's invasion of their country.

Red Cross Croatia said that money can be donated via its bank account,  IBAN: HR0923600001503056530, Poziv na broj odobrenja 705, Zagrebačka banka d.d., Zagreb, Trg bana J. Jelačića 10, primatelj Hrvatski Crveni križ, Ulica Crvenog križa 14-16 Zagreb.

For donations from abroad, the BIC (SWIFT) code is ZABAHR2XXXX

Donations can also be made via mobile phone apps using the 2D barcode.

All the proceeds will be used to assist refugees and displaced persons who are being cared for by the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent in Ukraine and other countries which have taken in refugees, including Croatia.

28 February 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Monday that Croatia would provide health care for refugees from Ukraine, as well as all necessary medical assistance for the wounded if the need should arise.

Croatia already helped treat the wounded from Ukraine in 2014 during the annexation of Crimea. At that time, we offered help with taking care of a total of 10 wounded persons, and eight of them were treated at Zagreb's KB Dubrava hospital, mostly persons with gunshot wounds to arms and legs, who arrived in Croatia in the final phase when treatment had to be completed and rehabilitation carried out, the minister recalled.

The manner of caring for the wounded will be agreed at the European level, and Croatia is willing to participate because Croatian doctors have extensive surgical experience in treating such patients, Beroš told Hina, adding that he also talked about it with the Ukrainian ambassador to Croatia.

Beroš considers that it would be more functional to establish a health centre for the wounded near the Ukrainian border, for example in Poland, and have medical staff, including Croatian doctors, participate in the treatment at that centre.

As for health care for Ukrainian refugees coming to Croatia, it will be provided to everyone from the place of entry in Croatia to the place where they will stay for a longer period of time.

Medical triage at points of entry into Croatia

Therefore, in addition to the government's interdepartmental working group for the reception of refugees, an expert working group was established at the level of the Health Ministry to provide specific health care to those people.

Beroš said that medical emergency teams would provide medical triage at points of entry into Croatia. These will include county institutes of emergency medicine and public health institutes since the COVID crisis has not ended yet, refugees have to be tested and their vaccination status has to be recorded, he said.

Ukrainian refugees fill out a questionnaire from the Croatian Red Cross upon entry, answering also questions about recovering from COVID, vaccination and chronic diseases, so that they can receive all the necessary care.

28 February, 2022 - Ruling HDZ party whip Branko Bačić said on Monday that there were currently 193 Ukrainian refugees in Croatia and that 3.5 million refugees from that country were expected in the EU if the Russian aggression against Ukraine continued.

The Croatian government will send humanitarian and technical aid to Ukraine, and its health system is preparing for the reception of the wounded, he said.

A special task force will be formed at today's government session to be in charge of the reception of refugees, Bačić told reporters in the parliament after a meeting of the inner cabinet with representatives of the parliamentary majority and opposition parties on the topic of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

The meeting, held on Monday morning, was attended by representatives of all opposition parties and there was no dissonance regarding the sending of aid to Ukraine, he said.

The broadest possible consensus was reached by all parliamentary parties on the government's position regarding the Russian military aggression and full support was expressed for Ukraine's struggle for territorial sovereignty and integrity, Bačić said.

Further joint meetings at the level of the ruling coalition for the duration of the aggression were agreed, as were meetings at the level of representatives of opposition parties and the ruling coalition.

It was agreed that PM Andrej Plenković would address MPs in the coming days on the steps taken by the government.

According to information available to Croatia's Ambassador to Ukraine, Ankica Djamić, there are still 35 Croatian nationals in Ukraine and they have been in touch with the embassy the whole time, said Bačić.

Vote on new construction minister possible on Friday 

Bačić also said that a special task force would be monitoring Croatia's supply with energy products.

Around 43% of gas for consumption in EU member states comes from Russia and in Croatia the share of Russian gas is 22%.

"The HDZ has welcomed the fact that given the LNG terminal on Krk island, Croatia will not have supply problems either until the end of or after the heating season," said Bačić.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić informed participants in today's meetings that Fortenova Grupa was not suffering any consequences of the current situation, and that more than 90% of depositors at Sberbank d.d. were protected by the deposit insurance system.

Marić added that the government was closely monitoring the possibility of the crisis spilling over to the southeast, noting that since 1939 there had been no event in Europe that could be compared with the Russian aggression on Ukraine.

As for the appointment of the new construction minister, Marić said that the decision was being prepared and that the parliament might vote on the new minister already on Friday.

Marić declined to comment on potential candidates, saying only that the prime minister had interviewed them.

ZAGREB, 26 Feb 2022 - Croatian reporters waiting in a long line at a Ukrainian border crossing to enter Poland on Saturday took five Ukrainian children in their van so they could meet with their mother on the Polish side of the border.

"There are many families with children. We, too, have taken five children in our van and will try to drive them to the border crossing. The police asked us to. The children's mother is on the other side of the border, in Poland," N1 television reporter Ana Mlinarić said in a broadcast.

Croatian reporters are waiting to leave Ukraine in a kilometres-long line near a border crossing with Poland. Mlinarić tweeted that thousands of Ukrainians are trying to leave the country, fleeing from war.

N1 reporters are sharing the van with crews from RTL and Nova TV who left Kyiv yesterday.

ZAGREB, 26 Feb 2022 - Croatia can provide for 3,500 persons from Ukraine at the moment and plans are being made so that up to 17,000 can be accommodated, Davor Spevec of the Civil Protection Directorate said in Slavonski Brod on Saturday.

The first six persons from Ukraine arrived in Croatia yesterday and they did not need the assistance of public services as they had private accommodation, he said.

"We have plans and places. They are hotels, hostels, dormitories... throughout Croatia," Spevec said, adding that if necessary bigger accommodation capacity will be provided.

He was in Slavonski Brod to attend a ceremony marking European 112 Day, International Civil Protection Day and Croatian Civil Protection Day.