"As far as Croatian citizens who have gone to fight in Ukraine are concerned... we were just stating the facts because we are monitoring the situation. The fact is that there are Croatian citizens fighting in Ukraine, eight in all, and their departure is not connected with any Croatian state institution, nor are institutions in any way supporting them," the press release said, adding that the ministry was concerned because of this.
"Regardless of the fact that this refers to a small number of individuals, we are concerned and are following the situation with grave concern," the MVEP said.
Pusic confirmed on Wednesday that Croatian citizens were fighting in Ukraine but only alongside the regular Ukrainian army.
"Moscow is concerned and perplexed by a media statement by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia (Vesna Pusic), who confirmed that volunteers from Croatia are taking part in hostilities in Ukraine alongside Ukrainian troops. The legality of Croatian citizens' involvement in engagements carried out by the Ukrainian military is not even called into question," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement earlier on Thursday.
Croatia on Thursday welcomed the Minsk agreement, saying that it regarded it as the first step towards peace in Ukraine.
"We welcome the Minsk II Agreement, which will start the process of ending the conflict and which represents the first step towards a sustainable peace in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said on its Twitter account.
The MVEP urged all foreign fighters in Ukraine, "including those from Croatia, to return to their home countries so that the agreement reached in Minsk today brings forth concrete results as soon as possible."
Croatia supports the de-escalation of the conflict and efforts to find a sustainable peaceful solution as soon as possible, the ministry said in its press release.