Zagreb mayor, Tomislav Tomasevic, announced on Tuesday that the city has prepared some 200-300 beds to accommodate Ukrainian refugees following Russia's invasion which began last week. Although the capacity seems to be sufficient for the time being, additional, larger, capacities at the Zagreb Fair complex are currently being converted for the same purpose, he added.

“Currently, most refugees from Ukraine are using the accommodation provided by authorities as a temporary place to stay before joining their relatives and friends already in Croatia,” he told reporters. To date, 344 refugees have arrived in Croatia, including 18 who have been placed at the Plitvice Motel outside Zagreb.

Two other locations are available in the country, in the city of Osijek and the northern town of Varazdinske Toplice. As for Zagreb, two more locations are on standby, including the large pavilions of the Zagreb Fair. Tomasevic said that the city’s utility company Zagreb Holding “is willing to provide some of the facilities it owns on the Adriatic coast.”

In light of Russia’s recent veiled threats of potential use of nuclear arms, Tomasevic was asked whether the city is prepared for such an attack. He said that there were more than a thousand fallout shelters in Zagreb and that they get checked periodically. But there’s no reason to panic or assume the worst-case scenario “when there is still no danger” from anything like that happening, he said.