Jandroković said Franko connected Ukraine and Croatia already a century ago when he was recovering from an illness in Lovran.
"Franko is considered the spiritual father of the Ukrainian nation. Together with Taras Shevchenko, he fought for national identity and the specificities of the Ukrainian nation," he added.
The erection of the monument to Franko was arranged a year ago at the initiative of Ukrainian Ambassador Vasily Kyrylych, when the brutal aggression on Ukraine seemed inconceivable, Jandroković said.
"In moments like these, we must stand by each other and be solidary, help and believe in values such as peace, freedom, democracy, justice, the protection of human and minority rights. They link the two peoples, and the civilisation to which we belong rests on them," he added.
On behalf of the Croatian people and parliament, Jandroković told the Ukrainians they must hold on and that they would win in the end because they carried in them love, faith, strength and the desire to defend their homeland.
He said Croatia must support and assist Ukraine even more than others because it was a victim of Greater Serbia aggression in the 1990s.
At that time, we learned what friends are and who are those who stand aside and won't come out of their comfort zone to help, he said, adding that one cannot be neutral about Ukraine today as that means supporting the aggressor.
"Croatia is extending support to Ukraine, political, technical and humanitarian. We'll stand by you to the end, until you liberate every inch of your country," Jandroković said.
Now we stand by each other in the joint defence of European civilisational values, said Stefanchuk.
That's important as Ukraine is heroically fighting for its independence and for the whole world, and in such moments of crisis you know who stands by you, so I thank all of the Croatian public for the support, he added.
He said that thanks to Franko's work, Ukraine could become acquainted with Croatian works and Croatian society with Ukrainian works.
Franko (1856-1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, economist and political activist. He translated into Ukrainian many works by famous world authors and, together with Taras Shevchenko, had enormous influence on modern Ukrainian literature and independent political thought.
Stefanchuk is on a working visit to Croatia on the occasion of the first Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform, due on Tuesday, co-organised by the Croatian and Ukrainian parliaments.