The delivery of 12 Mi-8 MTV-1 and two Mi-8 T helicopters from Croatia to Ukraine is underway, Croatian newspaper Jutarnji said it had learned, without citing its sources.
As the Croatian government keeps all information on military aid confidential, the news outlet said obtaining official confirmation of the delivery was impossible.
Reports that Croatia's Defense Ministry would donate some of its Soviet-made Mi-8 helicopters to Ukraine emerged last year in November.
According to the outlet's sources, however, the helicopters are currently being disassembled and prepared for delivery and will be ready for transport in about ten days.
While Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has publicly voiced support for Ukraine, the country's president, Zoran Milanovic has repeatedly spoken out against providing military support to Ukraine as it defends against full-scale Russian invasion.
Jutarnji reported that Milanovic was angered by the announcement that Croatia would deliver helicopters to Ukraine last November, saying at the time that Croatia's Defense Ministry did not inform him how these helicopters would be replaced.
On Jan. 30, Milanovic criticized the West's decision to send tanks to Ukraine and said that the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula would "never again be part of Ukraine," prompting a response from Ukrainian officials.
(Updated: )
