---
title: "Zagreb Opposes State Funerals for Mladić: Croatia Warns Serbia of Closed EU Doors"
description: "Croatia has opposed state funerals for Ratko Mladić in Serbia. Prime Minister Plenković stated that such a step could close the EU doors to Belgrade, reminding of Croatian charges against the general."
date: 2026-09-01T00:20:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/croatia-opposes-state-funerals-for-mladic-eu-warning
tags: [ratko-mladic, croatia, serbia, eu-enlargement, war-crimes, icty, balkans, plenkovic]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Zagreb Opposes State Funerals for Mladić: Croatia Warns Serbia of Closed EU Doors

![Croatian politician in a suit with a red tie gives a thumbs-up gesture in front of a sports arena, in the context of Zagreb's stance against Mladic's state funeral](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/01/hrvatska-protiv-pohoron-mladica-s-pochestjami/hrvatska-protiv-pohoron-mladica-s-pochestjami-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Croatia has officially opposed the burial of Mladić with state honors, warning Serbia of a freeze on its Euro-integration
- The Hague tribunal did not convict Mladić for crimes in Croatia, however a Croatian court in Šibenik in 1992 handed him a 20-year sentence for the shelling of Kijevo, Sine and other episodes
- Serbian society is divided: far-right circles consider Mladić a hero, human-rights defenders a war criminal; the Vučić authorities take a restrained position
- Russia expressed condolences to Mladić's family without recognizing the ICTY verdict

Croatia has officially voiced its opposition to the planned burial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladić with state honors. The general, nicknamed the "Butcher of Bosnia," died in the prison of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. Serbia, through its Minister of Justice, has already declared its intention to hold military funerals and expressed readiness to immediately retrieve the body from the Netherlands. It was precisely this decision that prompted Zagreb's harsh reaction.

### Zagreb's Position: "They Are Closing the Doors to the EU Themselves"

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated on live television that burying Mladić with state honors could negatively affect Serbia's European prospects. "It would be as if they were closing the doors to the European Union themselves," the Croatian leader emphasized. In his words, this concerns a person implicated in grave crimes during the wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and Zagreb reminds that Mladić is connected not only to the crimes for which he was convicted by the Hague tribunal, but also to episodes documented by Croatian justice.

### Croatian Charges: From Kijevo to the Peruča Dam

It is important to note that the Hague tribunal did not convict Mladić for crimes committed specifically on Croatian territory. However, in July 1992, a court in the Croatian town of Šibenik sentenced him in absentia to 20 years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population. According to the Croatian prosecution, on 26 August 1991, Mladić, then chief of staff of the 9th Knin Corps, ordered an attack on the village of Kijevo, which was hit by around 1,600 artillery shells and cluster munitions. The settlement was almost completely destroyed. The same case also covered strikes on Sine, Vrliče, Maljkove, Potravlj, Šatrica and Dabar, as well as attacks on civilian objects in Šibenik.

One of the most serious episodes of the Croatian proceedings was the investigation into the planning of the destruction of the Peruča dam on the Cetina River. According to the prosecution, Mladić and other commanders intended to blow up the dam to flood the downstream settlements of Sinj, Trilj and Omiš, home to more than 50,000 people. Around 30 tons of explosives were placed in the structure; the blast caused extensive damage to the dam, but failed to destroy it completely. Separately, Plenković mentioned Škabrnja in his statement: on 18 November 1991, on the day Vukovar fell, Serb forces captured the village, where civilians and defenders were killed. The Croatian prosecution also handled proceedings over rocket strikes on Požega and areas of Slavonia in 1995, which killed one civilian and wounded three others.

### The Hague Verdict and Death in Prison

In 2017, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Mladić to life imprisonment. The court found him guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the established crimes were the genocide in Srebrenica, persecution, extermination, killings, deportation and forcible transfer of Bosnian Muslims, a multi-year campaign of artillery terror against the civilian population of Sarajevo, and the taking of UN staff as hostages. Mladić died in the tribunal's penitentiary facility in The Hague, not living to see a possible review of his sentence.

### Contradictory Data

Around the figure of Mladić and his funeral, there are a number of inconsistencies in the positions of various parties. On the one hand, the Serbian Minister of Justice publicly announced state funerals, and some Serbian politicians and far-right circles openly call the general a national hero. On the other hand, the progressive, liberal and human-rights part of Serbian society recognizes Mladić as a war criminal and condemns his actions. The Serbian authorities, led by Aleksandar Vučić, reportedly take a restrained and ambiguous position, giving no clear public signal either in favor of or against the honors.

An additional contradiction is created by Russia's position: the Kremlin expressed condolences to the deceased's family, while officially not recognizing the jurisdiction and verdict of the Hague tribunal. Thus, in the public space, three incompatible assessments coexist simultaneously: the international-legal one (a war criminal sentenced to life), the nationalist one (a national hero) and the political-diplomatic one (a figure whose honorary burial could block Serbia's Euro-integration). The Croatian side, for its part, emphasizes that The Hague did not examine episodes on Croatian territory, and insists on its own jurisdiction over these cases, which makes the funeral issue not only moral but also legally sensitive for bilateral relations.

### Impact on Serbia's Euro-integration

Plenković's statement came against the backdrop of Serbia's ongoing Euro-integration process, where the question of the attitude toward the legacy of the 1990s wars and the recognition of the ICTY's jurisdiction remains one of the key criteria. Zagreb, itself a member of the EU since 2013, consistently uses the theme of accountability for war crimes as a tool of pressure on Belgrade. If Serbia holds Mladić's funeral with state honors, this, by the logic of the Croatian prime minister, would be perceived by Brussels as a signal that Belgrade is not ready to finally distance itself from the militarist legacy, which could slow down or even halt the accession negotiation process.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Because of the "Butcher of Bosnia," Serbia May Be Kept Out of the EU](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/cherez-bosniyskogo-m-yasnika-serbiyu-mozhut-1788221747.html) - Подтверждает контекст давления Загреба на Белград в связи с фигурой Младича и возможными последствиями для евроинтеграции Сербии.
- [Defense of Ratko Mladić, Sentenced to Life in Prison by the Hague Court for Genocide, Requested ...](https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/ckgp7lwg9p0o) - Подтверждает факт пожизненного приговора МТБЮ за геноцид и наличие активной защиты на этапе отбывания наказания.
- [Serbian General Mladić, Convicted of Genocide, Is "Between Life and Death"](https://news.mail.ru/society/70623299/) - Подтверждает тяжёлое состояние здоровья Младича в тюрьме Гааги, что логически предшествует описанному в основном тексте факту смерти. Прямое подтверждение даты смерти в данном источнике отсутствует.
- [Ratko Mladić's Defense Denied in Lawsuit Against ICTY Doctors](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/5419973) - Подтверждает юридический контекст: МТБЮ, условия содержания, попытки защиты оспорить действия медиков. Не противоречит основному тексту.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: For exactly which crimes did the Hague tribunal convict Mladić?
**A:** In 2017, the ICTY found Mladić guilty of genocide (including Srebrenica), crimes against humanity and violations of the laws of war: persecution, extermination, killings, deportation of Bosnian Muslims, a campaign of artillery terror against Sarajevo and the taking of UN hostages. The sentence was life imprisonment.

### Q: Did the ICTY convict Mladić for crimes on Croatian territory?
**A:** No. The Hague tribunal did not examine episodes on Croatian territory. However, a Croatian court in Šibenik in 1992 sentenced Mladić in absentia to 20 years for the shelling of Kijevo, Sine, Vrliče and other settlements, as well as for planning the destruction of the Peruča dam.

### Q: Why does Croatia link Mladić's funeral to Serbia's Euro-integration?
**A:** Prime Minister Plenković stated that the honorary burial of a general convicted of genocide would be perceived as Serbia's unwillingness to distance itself from the militarist legacy, which could give Brussels grounds to slow down or block the accession negotiation process for Belgrade.

### Q: What is the position of the Russian leadership regarding Mladić's death?
**A:** The Kremlin expressed condolences to Mladić's family. At the same time, Russia officially does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICTY or its verdicts, which makes the Russian reaction an additional source of contradictory assessments in the international discourse around the general's figure.