THE Volodymyr Zelensky expected today in Croatia to participate in Ukraine – Southeast Europe summitwhich aims to show “the region’s support for the Ukrainian people” and offer military aid to troops facing the advance of Russian forces on the eastern front.

At the Dubrovnik summit, in which Greece will be represented by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakiswill be attended by heads of state, prime ministers or foreign ministers of 12 countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey).

New military partnerships are expected to be announced during this meeting.

The Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenkovic he promised that his country would show “solidarity with Ukraine, including in the military sphere”.

In particular, a long-term cooperation agreement between Croatia and Ukraine is expected to be signed, which is likely to build on Croatian experience in demining after the war in the 1990s and dealing with war crimes.

Over the past two years, Croatia has sent Ukraine 300 million euros in aid, mostly military, added Plenkovic, who has traveled to Kiev three times since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

“We expect the region to show united support to Ukraine,” Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Rudman explained yesterday, Monday.

Zelensky’s trip to Croatia, which he is visiting for the first time, comes at a difficult time for Ukraine, whose forces are retreating on the eastern front as they face shortages of men and weapons. The Ukrainian president, who on every trip calls for more help against Russia, recently lamented that the West was “delaying” deliveries of long-range missiles to his country.

Aid to Ukraine is a contentious issue in Croatia: although conservative Prime Minister Plenkovic has made aid a major thrust of his foreign policy, the president, Zoran Milanovic (populist left) refused in early October to support the government’s proposal to send Croatian officers to train Ukrainian soldiers as part of a NATO mission.

Milanovic, whose role is mostly ceremonial but remains the head of the armed forces, explained that he would not allow Croatian soldiers to “engage in activities that push Croatia to war.”

After Dubrovnik, Zelensky is expected in Germany on Saturdayto participate in the international summit on the defense of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president said that he will present at this meeting “clear and concrete measures for a just end to the war”, assuring that Russia can be stopped by “the determination of the partners and the strengthening of Ukraine”.

This meeting will take place at a critical moment for Ukraine, as the American presidential elections, which will be held in November, may call into question, in the event of a Donald Trump victory, American support, which is of primary importance for Kiev. But President Joe Biden, who was due to attend the meeting, canceled his trip to Germany because of Hurricane Milton, which is expected to hit Florida overnight.