January the 28th, 2023 - We all know that President Zoran Milanovic (SDP) is one to make sometimes rather strange remarks, and he isn't at all shy when it comes to saying precisely what he thinks of everything and... well, everyone. Unfortunately, some of his statements have made him popular with the Russian press, and HDZ isn't having it.

As Index writes, HDZ recently took to Facebook in order to publish some of the titles and images of articles published in the Russian media space that convey the statements of President Zoran Milanovic about sending Western tanks into Ukraine.

"If America and Russia don't come to an agreement, and that currently isn't something that is in sight, this war will not stop. Somehow I hope that some kind of talks do continue, or we will slowly move towards WW3, which some people think has already started, but I'm a little more reserved on that front. As for the tanks, both Russian and American will burn," President Zoran Milanovic said recently, among other rather alarming things.

HDZ called him out in its social media publication with the taunting title "From Russia with love/Iz Rusije s ljubavlju".

"The caries (an insult comparing the president to a persistent form of tooth decay) from Pantovcak is once again being showcased as a hero by the Russian regime's media. How could they not praise and celebrate Zoran ''Lex Perkovic'' Milanovic when he, much like the Kremlin, insults Germany and condemns it for the delivery of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine? When he fervently spreads ideas which have already been being expressed Vladimir Putin's own spokesman Peskov, claiming that these tanks will 'burn' and threaten humanity - in order to stop aid from being sent to Ukraine - with 'a new world (nuclear) war?'' wrote HDZ.

"He wants Croatia to be in the ''Russian world'' they wrote, using the word ''svet'' instead of the Croatian word ''svijet'' for ''world'', in an apparent jab by using Serbian spelling.

''At the same time, President Zoran Milanovic has been saying things about the Germans, claiming that "that they've already tried to go to war with Russia", alluding to Adolf Hitler - similar to when he accused Ukrainians of "Nazism" because they don't agree with being enslaved. He also claims that the delivery of German and American tanks will ''only prolong the conflict'' (hm, conflict, not aggression or invasion). In translation - He demands that Kyiv capitulate!

Milanovic is now quite openly working in the interest of Russian aggression and Vladimir Putin's undemocratic regime, and against Ukraine, Europe (which he once again showered with insults) and the West. He wants Croatia in the "Russian world". But don't worry: Grbin & Grmoja will continue to support him, and will continue to claim that they ''see nothing objectionable'' in his statements," HDZ's Facebook post reads.

For more, check out our news section.

September the 4th, 2022 - Retired Croatian General Ivan Cermak has purchased a villa in Opatija which was owned by Russians. He made the purchase this summer, and it totalled 12.5 million euros.

As Morski writes, Ivan Cermak has bought one of the most beautiful villas on the entire Opatija Riviera, Villa Lenac, from its formerly Russian owners. In an interview with Index Investigation, he confirmed the purchase, but showed little willingness to discuss any numbers or prices. However, Index investigations (istrage) then came into possession of the sales contract, which shows the price of almost 94 million kuna for the villa located at the entrance to Volosko.

It is believed that Ivan Cermak probably paid for the now ex-Russian villa in cash

The previous Russian owners bought the villa way back in 2009 for 5.5 million euros and then renovated it, it spans about 500 square metres, but the complex itself covers 4420 square metres. Part of it is located within a dense pine forest, and it is located on the cape itself, with its own access to the sea and beach. The villa was most likely paid for in cash by Ivan Cermak because there is no loan agreement to speak of.

Villa Lenac was the former residence of JNA general Mirko Lenac, and up until 2009, the Lenac and Cosic families both used that villa, before selling the building to Russian investors. Back at theattime, it was written that the buyer was a Russian national named Ljudmila Rovenska, who purchased the villa through the company Keldan d.o.o. As such, Keldan d.o.o. bought the building and paid an additional two million kuna to the City of Opatija in order to get their hands on a garden plot as well. All together, along with the renovation of the villa, the entire thing cost a little more than 10 million euros.

"It's true, I bought it, but I wouldn't want to sit here and talk about the price"

''I wouldn't want to sit here now and discuss the price, because the price isn't being discussed publicly anyway,'' retired general Ivan Cermak told Index, adding that he is extremely satisfied with the purchase of such a property, which is about only around an hour and a half's drive from the City of Zagreb. ''I'll certainly use it more often,'' Ivan Cermak said at the end.

Although he didn't want to talk about the price, Index managed to get its hands on the villa's sales contract in which the price of 12.5 million euros was indicated, including the movables that are also on the property. It can be concluded from the purchase agreement that Ivan Cermak didn't use any sort of loan, it is also clear that he had to pay the amount within one month of signing the purchase agreement. The sales contract was signed on June the 23rd of this year, and Ivan Cermak's wife Mirjana is also the co-owner of the villa.

Who is Ivan Cermak? From an air conditioner repairman to one of the richest Croatian nationals.

Ivan Cermak was born in 1949 in the City of Zagreb, where he completed his primary and vocational education, and in the early seventies he was engaged in servicing air conditioners. In addition to servicing air conditioners, he later started doing other kinds of jobs, and he even opened a boutique and became a co-owner of The Best disco in the Jarun area of the city.

He got into doing big business back in the 90s, when he entered politics and oil trading. He joined HDZ in 1990, allegedly at the invitation of Franjo Tudjman himself, and helped them organise party rallies and similar tasks. He soon became the vice-president of the HDZ Executive Committee and Tudjman's very own advisor in Pantovcak. He was also assistant to the Minister of Defense from 1991 to 1993 under Gojko Susek, after which he moved to the position of Minister of Trade, Shipbuilding and Energy, but he didn't stay in that position for even one year.

After the Operation Storm (Oluja) was successful, and immediately after the liberation of Knin, Tudjman appointed Ivan Cermak commander of the Knin military district, where his task was to establish normal life after the end of the war operations there. However, serving that function later led him to the docks of the Hague Court. After a multi-year trial, in April 2011, Cermak was finally acquitted, according to Index investigations.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

August the 22nd, 2022 - Russian warships recently entered Croatian waters, and despite the dire situation for which Russia is wholly responsible in Ukraine, the Croatian Ministry of Defense claims it ''didn't have a reason to react.''

As Index Vijesti writes, just three weeks ago, warships belonging to no less than the Russian Navy tried to block the exit of the American aircraft carrier Harry Truman from the Adriatic Sea, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chief of the Italian Supreme Defense Staff, revealed in an interview with Rome's La Repubblica. He said that Russian warships had arrived along the Italian coast and had arrived as far as Ancona.

According to the Italian publication, on July the 22nd, 2022, Russian ships blocked the entry-exit route from the Adriatic Sea to try to prevent the movement of the American aircraft carrier. This led to a huge rise in tensions and a series of maneuvers by NATO and Russian ships in the area.

In its reconstruction of events, La Repubblica writes that the NATO commanders immediately reacted to the Russian moves in the Adriatic Sea, who wanted to show that they would not give up control over the passage from the Ionian to the Adriatic Sea. At the end of July, the Russian cruiser Varyag was less than 100 kilometres away from the American cruiser Forrest Sherman, they write.

These ships were located on the sides of Cape Santa Maria di Leuca, with the Russian ship on the Adriatic side and the American ship on the Ionian side. A little further to the south was the Harry Truman aircraft carrier with an American escort.

Truman was joined by NATO ships from Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and the USA and formed a square around the aircraft carrier on July the 25th, writes the Italian daily. They add that on July the 31st, the Global Hawk, one of the largest American spy planes, patrolled over the Ionian Sea for hours.

Croatian MOD: We're familiar with the situation

Index sent an inquiry to the Croatian Ministry of Defense about whether or not it was made aware of the activities of Russian and NATO ships in the Adriatic Sea. Here's what they had to say:

"Croatia is continuously monitoring the situation and is in contact with allies and partners. Through the Naval Operations Centre, the Croatian Navy monitors the situation in the Adriatic Sea, mainly in its area of ​​responsibility. This primarily refers to the navigation of ships of foreign navies. On the basis of the above, the HRM Command is aware of the presence, that is, the sailing of warships belonging to the Russian Federation into the Adriatic Sea. Given that no ships were observed entering the territorial waters of ​​the Republic of Croatia, there was no reason to react," the Ministry of Defense told Index.

Ivica Mandic: There was no threat from the ships

"Nobody has ever managed to block an aircraft carrier, so I think that our colleagues from Italy are exaggerating," military analyst Ivica Mandic told Dnevnik Nova TV.

"It's nothing particularly unusual for warships to come and watch the exercises of the other side, this is in one way provocative in the sense that it comes so close, but it is not a threat, especially to the carrier strike group," said Mandic.

"I think this is a distraction from something important that is happening on the ground in Ukraine," he noted, calling the move of the Russian warships in the Adriatic Sea a stupid operation.

"If they'd fired a rocket, they would have been sunk instantly"

"Those ships, if they fired a missile of any kind, they would all be sunk at that moment. You're in a narrow sea called the Adriatic and you are under attack from NATO member countries, you'd be toast,'' said Mandic.

He assured the public that the Croatian Armed Forces have a clear picture of both the Adriatic Sea and Russian warships, as well as the possibility of defense in the event of a threat, noting that Truman's presence on the Adriatic Sea is not accidental.

Akrap: These are common activities

Security expert Gordan Akrap told HRT that this action by the Russian warships should not be taken too seriously.

"This is the usual activity of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, regardless of whether they're air or naval forces, which are trying to come into contact with NATO forces in order to test the organisation, effectiveness, mobility and system of command, control and leadership of the NATO alliance and member countries of the NATO alliance in crises," said Akrap.

He added that we often see such cases in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and in Norwegian waters, and now we're seeing it here in the Adriatic as well. He pointed out that this sea is very well protected - it is protected by Croatia, partly by Albania and also by Italy. He said that, in addition to four ships, several submarines also entered the Adriatic, but they were tracked from beginning to end and immediately sent back.

For more, check out our news section.

ZAGREB, 22 July 2022 - The Russian government has added Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia to its list of hostile countries, against which it is taking countermeasures, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Friday.

The document gives the number of local staff that can be recruited by the embassies and consulates of these countries in Russia.

Croatia and Slovenia can no longer employ local staff  in their diplomatic and consular posts. Greece is allowed to hire up to 34 people, Denmark 20 and Slovakia 16.

"The list approved by the government is not final and could be expanded given the continued hostile actions of foreign states against Russian missions abroad,” the Russian government said in a statement.

In May last year, similar restrictions were imposed on the diplomatic missions of the United States and the Czech Republic.

For more, check out our politics section.

May the 31st, 2022 - A Greenpeace Adriatic protest was held in front of a large tanker (SCF Samotlor) headed for the Port of Omisalj, which was transporting Russian oil.

As Morski writes, Greenpeace activists protested recently in front of the SCF Samotlor tanker, which was transporting Russian oil to the Port of Omisalj. They staged a protest ahead of a recently held European Union (EU) summit, urging EU political leaders to urgently impose an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels and speed up the energy transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Greenpeace pointed out that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine back in February, EU countries have spent more than 54 billion euros on Russian oil, gas and coal, which turns out to be co-financing the war still going on in ravaged Ukraine.

Hundreds of millions of euros continue to flow from EU countries into the Kremlin in exchange for Russian fossil fuels, and EU leaders have still failed to impose sanctions that would effectively curb this, what they deem to be an utterly immoral trade. In other words, and in the opinion of those who held the recent Greenpeace Adriatic protect, the European Union is still co-financing the war in Ukraine and such a practice must stop immediately.

''The EU must finally show true solidarity and impose an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels. No delays, no legal loopholes, no special treatment and exemption for any country,'' warned Eszter Matyas, campaign manager at Greenpeace CEE.

The Greenpeace Adriatic protest took place the day before the aforementioned summit, and the European Commission has proposed phasing out Russian oil imports in most EU member states, but not before the end of this year. Some countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria could get even more time permitted. Recent comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen show that EU leaders are nowhere near an agreement, Greenpeace warned.

''The humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine will only continue to deepen if a weak embargo is imposed, or if nothing is imposed at all. The war in Ukraine should be a wake-up call for European Union leaders. Security in a world powered by fossil fuels simply doesn't exist. The current ban on all Russian fossil fuels can and must be a strong impetus for the development of renewables and energy efficiency across Europe. It's important not only because of climate security, but also because of its independence from autocratic regimes that trade in fossil fuels,'' said Petra Andric from Greenpeace Croatia.

The majority of oil consumption in the EU is accounted for by transport, while the EU is dependent on imports for as much as 97% of its oil products. A study commissioned by Belgium's Greenpeace offers guidance to those responsible for decarbonising Europe's transport sector by 2040, which could be powered by renewable energy without relying on biofuels. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently announced that a limited set of short-term transport measures could reduce consumption by as much as 2.7 million barrels of oil per day over the next four months. In Germany, short-term measures could reduce Russian oil imports by about a third, the global organization warns.

When it comes to the Greenpeace Adriatic protest, activists have also held similar protests in Ukraine since the start of the war, calling for an embargo on Russian fossil fuel imports to European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and Croatia in late March.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 26 May 2022 - Russia is disappointed with the hostile actions of the Croatian authorities in recent months, but hopes their mutually beneficial cooperation will be restored, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement was released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Croatia and Slovenia, and the latter is also accused of "destroying bilateral relations."

Croatia and Slovenia have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and joined in European sanctions against Moscow. As part of those measures, Zagreb in April expelled 18 Russian diplomats and six members of administrative staff.

"Unfortunately, the Croatian authorities have in recent months adopted a hostile position towards Russia that is in stark contrast with the quality of our bilateral relations, destroys their foundations and causes serious damage to the true interests of people in the two countries," the statement says.

Such destructive behaviour, it says, represents a "baleful approach that has no future".

"We believe common sense will prevail, and Croatia will return to the path of constructive dialogue, based, among other things, on the awareness of geopolitical realities and true national interests," the statement said.

Speaking of Slovenia, Moscow said that it was disappointed by its government's decision to take "entirely unprovoked hostile actions" aimed at "destroying bilateral relations despite the historical logic of their development."

"We are confident that such policy on the part of Slovenian authorities, which is contrary to the true interests of our friendly peoples, will eventually give way to a balanced position natural for Russian-Slovenian relations," the Russian ministry said.

For more, check out our politics section.

May the 20th, 2022 - The classic sight of Dubrovnik super yachts which could be seen each and every summer in the Pearl of the Adriatic is severely lacking this year, with rich Russian yacht and villa owners avoiding Croatia entirely owing to sanctions. It seems Turkey is set to make the profit this year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a couple of years ago, there were no cruisers, but there were Dubrovnik super yachts that chose Croatia's southernmost city as their favourite destination, and spent up to half a million euros in Croatia in just three weeks. These were the absolute guests, especially last year when Croatia set a record in the number of yacht arrivals, so many that Dubrovnik has already been called the Croatian Monte Carlo, writes local portal Dubrovacki vjesnik.

However, this year no yacht owner has decided to go down to Dubrovnik, except for the one that was on a winter berth in the Port of Gruz. Whether the problem is the fact that the owners of luxury yachts are often Russians who will, understandably, avoid parts of Europe where they may have their property confiscated or something else, Dubrovacki vjesnik tried to find out from yacht managers.

Russian oligarchs have been left without their villas, yachts and money: "This war is a disaster for them"

"The reason for the absence of yacht owners is primarily the situation due to the war in Ukraine, and a large number of yacht owners across the Mediterranean have always been Russians. We don't expect them anywhere in the Mediterranean, not even in Croatia. Turkey will certainly benefit from this because many Russian-owned vessels are already in Turkey and so that country will definitely have a better season than us.

It's hard to predict how many there will be across the Mediterranean. So far, we're doing well, but I expect it will be a little less this season than the previous two pandemic-dominated summers. What the numbers will be, we'll see at the end of the season. This year there will also be fewer Americans because of the war in Europe,'' Dorijan Dujmic, the director of BWA Yachting Croatia.

Compared to 2021, there have been fewer private planes landing Dubrovnik Airport as well, and the reason is certainly the same - rich Russians are now bypassing Croatia, and Americans looking at a map of Europe still believe Croatia is too close to the ongoing conflict, as it seems only a few inches away from Ukraine on paper.

“Since the beginning of this year, about 247 business and general aviation flights (private flights) have been in operation at Dubrovnik Airport. Compared to last year during the same period, there was an increase in the number of aircraft operations (flights) of about 13.83 percent,'' said Ivan Maslac, the commercial director of Dubrovnik Airport.

Last year, a significant part of general and business aviation traffic was made up of larger privately owned aircraft (Bombardier Global Express, Gulfstream V, etc.), and Dubrovnik Airport expects a large number of general and business aviation traffic this year as well, which will more than likely be of the same profile. Of course, due to the sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war in Ukraine, we expect a smaller number of Russian passengers,'' he concluded.

For more, check out our travel section.

April 27, 2022 - Economist Damir Novotny was a guest on N1 Television's ''Novom Danu'', and commented on how certain is it that Russia will suspend gas to Croatia based on recent threats to Bulgaria and Poland.

Novotny said Russia's threat to stop supplying gas to Poland and Bulgaria is in some ways a warning to the entire European Union, as the Polish and Russian governments clash most verbally, reports Index.hr.

The economic analyst pointed out that he did not think that Russia would make a decision to stop supplying gas to Croatia.

"It is possible that Russia will suspend gas to Croatia, of course, but it is uncertain and we cannot predict anything because the Russian political elite is unpredictable at the moment, Putin's decisions are completely unpredictable, we cannot be sure about the direction of his decisions, especially economic ones'', said Novotny.

''He told the Russian public that the sanctions did not cause any damage to the Russian economy, which is simply not true. So I don’t believe there will be drastic blockades'', added Novotny.

What does an early warning about the gas situation mean?

He also explained what the government's early warning measure due to the gas situation means.

"This is a mechanism used by the governments of all European countries when gas storage facilities are emptied over the winter and refilled over the summer, and if the storage tenants do not refuel or do not fill it with that dynamic, prices are high and they are expected to fall over the summer to refill them, but that’s ungrateful because it’s hard to estimate gas prices at the moment. It is possible that it will start to descend during the summer, but it is not certain. All supply chains will be disrupted, Russian gas will not come to the EU market in the amount we are used to and prices will not fall over the summer'', Novotny said.

As for the norms of strategic stocks, he said that, according to publicly available information, we are below those stocks in terms of the amount of gas.

Gazprom: We are suspending gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland

Recall, Russian energy giant Gazprom claims to have cut off all gas supplies to both Bulgaria and Poland after both countries refused to start paying for deliveries in rubles.

Earlier, both Polish and Bulgarian gas suppliers said they had received official notifications from Gazprom that supplies would be suspended.

At one point early Wednesday, physical gas flows along the Yamal-Europa gas pipeline from Belarus to Poland fell to zero, but then gas supplies resumed. But then Gazprom confirmed that gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria were suspended.

For more, check out our politics section.

April the 10th, 2022 - Is Croatia expelling Russian diplomats in the face of the horrendous invasion of Ukraine and the alleged war crimes that have since taken place there at the hands of Russian troops? The sanction list of Russian names is long indeed and the Security and Intelligence Agency is also involved.

As Morski writes, five months after, as he put it, he "discovered the warm and poetic soul of Sergei" and read poetry by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Russian, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman has written a decision to expel Russian diplomats from the Republic of Croatia.

This comes as a very important sign of solidarity and a response to the latest developments and brutal Russian aggression in Ukraine where we're being stunned by the crimes and horrors committed by the Russian army in that innocent country.

''In addition to expelling Russian diplomats, we are also actively working on freezing the property of those persons under sanctions,'' Minister Gordan Grlic Radman revealed for RTL. State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Frano Matosic also added:

''There are 893 persons and 65 legal entities on our sanctions list. We expect this situation to change soon again, given that a new package of measures will be adopted in Brussels. Russian diplomats in Croatia, among other things, are being left without the luxury they enjoyed, primarily on the coast, as well as the freezing of the money in their accounts. Their companies are being frozen, in terms of preventing those persons on the sanctions list from using these economic resources to extract funds that could be passed on for aggression against Ukraine,'' said Matosic.

Otherwise, that number is much higher, because not all of the seized yachts whose connection with Russia is being established are counted. The real owners are known for three of them. Croatia doesn't decide on the sanctions independently, those decisions are made in Brussels. The rich often try to hide everything they have, so they register their property on distant islands and in third names, making it challenging to determine what is actually Russian-owned and what isn't.

When it comes to the question of whether or not SOA (Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency) helps in determining what is Russian property in Croatia, the answer is that of course it does.

The Russian Embassy in Zagreb is also closely following everything that is happening, and when asked about the expulsion of Russian diplomats from this country, they say that they don't want to comment on it until they receive official information from the Croatian Government.

For more, check out our politics section.

April the 10th, 2022 - The Russian Sberbank has now sold its former 43 percent stake in Fortenova to the Hungarian Indotek company, Fortenova CEO Fabris Perusko has announced.

As Jutarnji/Novac/Andrea Koscec writes, the Russian Sberbank has sold its 43 percent stake in the Fortenova Group to a Hungarian investment fund called Indotek Group, majority owned by one of the richest Hungarians of all, Daniel Jellinek, Bloomberg reported, and soon after, Fortenova confirmed the information on its website.

The price involved hasn't yet been announced, but it was pointed out that in order to conclude the transaction, it was necessary to provide solutions from the competent regulatory authorities across several markets.

In mid-March, Jutarnji list reported that it had "started an in-depth analysis process related to the possible sale of shares within the company" and then announced that Jellinek, who Forbes estimates has a net worth of around 300 million euros, was interested. It was speculated back then, although such processes usually take months, that given the development of the situation in Ukraine and the obvious interest of Sberbank to get out of ownership in Fortenova, an agreement could be reached long before it would otherwise be expected. A spokesman for Daniel Jellinek told Bloomberg that Jellinek sees the deal as a long-term investment, and Indotek will be a strategic partner of the Fortenova Group.

On the occasion of the signing of the sales contract and the announced change of ownership, Fabris Perusko, CEO and member of the Board of Directors of the Fortenova Group, welcomed the entry of Indotek into the ownership structure, which he said recognises as a long-term strategic partner in the co-ownership of Fortenova.

''Despite a possible change in co-ownership, the Fortenova Group continues to operate on a regular basis. Our operating companies are successfully managing market disruptions caused by rising operating costs and disruptions in some supply chains that our many customers aren't feeling and we're fully focused on preparing for this year's season from which we have significant expectations,'' said Perusko.

The Hungarian Indotek Group manages assets worth more than three billion euros in total, and according to its website, Indotek is a financial conglomerate owned by Hungarian and American investors, with a diversified business in real estate, financial services, but also logistics and transportation. The company employs 380 people, is headquartered in Budapest and has 12 branches across the country, as well as its own offices in Spain, Italy, Romania, Poland, Greece and here in Croatia.

Indotek has now become Fortenova's largest single shareholder, but - like the Russian Sberbank has been so far - it will have to seek the consent of the two remaining major shareholders - Pavle Vujnovac, the owner of Enna Group, and Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, which holds a seven percent stake in Fortenova, and is currently sanctioned.

The Fortenova Group is otherwise the largest food trader and producer in Southeastern Europe, and was formed after the settlement of the former Agrokor's creditors back in April 2019. Its financial situation has improved significantly over more recent years, as evidenced by its debt-to-operating ratio (EBITDA). It employs about 50,000 people.

For more, check out our business section.