US, NATO Waging 'Proxy War' Against Putin, Says Croatian President: 'What Am I Supposed To Be, A Slave Of America?'

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic accused the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, of waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. 

What Happened: Milanovic, on Sunday, at a press conference in Vukovar, said he sees no point in Western sanctions against Moscow as Russia continues its assault on Kyiv. 

"Washington and NATO are waging a proxy war against Russia with the help of Ukraine," Milanovic said, according to Tass.

"The plan cannot be to remove [Vladimir] Putin. The plan cannot be in sanctions. Sanctions are absurd, we will not achieve anything with their help," Milanovic said.

See Also: Putin Denies Having 'Gone Mad' Over Ukraine War: 'We Realize What Nuclear Weapons Are'

"They did not even break Slobodan Milosevic with sanctions. They go from war to war. And what am I supposed to be, a slave of America?," Milanovic added.

The Croatian president had previously expressed concerns about training the Ukrainian army in his country, which is a part of the European Union.

This comes weeks after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 'visit to the U.S., said Washington was fighting a proxy war as it boosted military support for Ukraine. Peskov had warned that "this cannot prevent the Russian Federation from achieving its goals during the special military operation."

In late December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the U.S. threatened to physically eliminate Putin to stop Ukraine war.

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