Croatia has decided to approve Ukraine's request for arms and military equipment, and intends to send infantry weapons and protective equipment "enough to equip four infantry brigades," Defense Minister, Mario Banozic, told reporters on Monday.

“We are talking about rifles and machine guns, of calibers requested by Ukraine,” Banozic said, without clarifying further. He was speaking after the government held a meeting on Monday discussing military aid to Ukraine. The value of the shipment is 124 million kuna (€16.5 million).

Croatia had joined NATO in 2009, and a Croatian army brigade typically has around 3,000-4,000 soldiers.

Croatia will also designate “up to 10 soldiers” to join NATO’s rapid response force. Banozic declined to reveal more information about the soldiers for that mission. He said that the authorities were monitoring the situation in the region, and that following intelligence collected, the protection of military facilities had been raised to a higher level.

(€1 = 7.52 kuna)