Anušić on the celebration in Knin: Veterans endured even the heat
The Defense Minister spoke on HRT's Dnevnik about the Knin celebration, treatment of prisoners, and the modernization of the Armed Forces.
The Defense Minister spoke on HRT's Dnevnik about the Knin celebration, treatment of prisoners, and the modernization of the Armed Forces.
Defense Minister Ivan Anušić appeared on Tuesday, August 5, 2026, on HRT's main news program Dnevnik, on the occasion of the Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders in Knin. In a wide-ranging interview, he reflected on the course of this year's ceremony, the historical lessons of the Homeland War, the treatment of prisoners, and the modernization process of the Croatian Armed Forces.
Anušić expressed great satisfaction with the organization of the celebration, emphasizing that the entire program went flawlessly. "From an organizational standpoint, everything went well. We worked together on the organization. There were helicopters, the Krila Oluje aerobatic team performed, and we also saw Rafales, drones, and special forces," the minister told HRT.
He particularly thanked war veterans who, despite their advanced age and health issues, persevered throughout the entire ceremony. "These are people who are already quite old and ill. I'm glad they managed to endure two and a half hours in this heat," he added.
Recalling the early days of the Homeland War, Anušić vividly described Croatia's difficult position in 1990. "We were completely unarmed and unprotected, utterly unprotected from European politics or the UN. We were left as someone whom the rebel Serb army was supposed to 'deal with,' as they unfortunately killed thousands of our civilians, defenders, women, and children," he said.
Despite the embargo and lack of weapons, Croatia managed to organize itself. "We managed to organize ourselves with incredible courage, resourcefulness, and improvisation, and that should be said openly. We resisted, we stopped them in 1991 and broke their spine in Vukovar. After that, we prepared for 1995. In the meantime, Europe and the world recognized us, and we resolved everything in two days," the minister emphasized. He added that the Homeland War brought long-awaited independence: "We created an independent and sovereign state that we had waited for centuries. The sky is the limit."
The Defense Minister particularly emphasized the ethical dimension of the military-police operations, drawing a sharp line between the conduct of Croatian forces and enemy units. "In the Homeland War, 402 children were killed. They targeted playgrounds while children were playing. That wasn't accidental; it's a mindset," Anušić said.
In contrast, Croatian defenders treated prisoners humanely. "Four years later, when they liberated everything, Croats brought them water and bread, clothed, fed, and bathed their soldiers, and returned them to their families," he stressed. He also recalled his own experience from Operation Flash: "I remember in Flash when we were liberating villages and ten or fifteen soldiers surrendered to us. No one even looked at them, let alone did them any harm. They received everything they needed, were taken to their families, given civilian clothes, and went wherever they wanted."
Anušić called for a comparison of fates: "Look at our prisoners who returned, look at those who didn't, how they were massacred and what was done to them. That's the difference between us and some others."
Speaking about the modernization of the Croatian Army and the procurement of sophisticated equipment, Anušić summarized his clear stance in one sentence: "To be honest, it isn't, but it can help a lot. I'd remind you of 1990 when we had nothing, we were under an embargo, and we still managed to win. The human factor is key; without it, nothing else matters. The Rafale is nothing without a pilot; it's a 'piece of steel.'"
The minister concluded that the Ministry of Defense takes care not only of equipping the Croatian Armed Forces but also of their members. "We're not just equipping the Croatian Armed Forces; we're taking care of their members, their material rights, and working conditions. We're seriously raising the standard there. What we
