Toni is a Croatian war veteran who became a military volunteer in the “Steppe Wolves” unit and is now fighting on the Zaporizhzhia front. He was born in Croatia and has lived in Zaporizhzhia since 2018. When the full-scale invasion began, he turned to the military enlistment office, but at that time he couldn’t make it to the front. A year later, the opportunity to join the defense of Ukraine appeared.

After the Revolution of Dignity, Toni moved to Ukraine, met a Zaporizhian woman, married in 2018, and stayed in the city. He said, “We lived in Zaporizhzhia, sometimes we went to Croatia. I like Ukraine very much. I didn’t work here because I have a Croatian military pension. I did the household chores: cooked dishes of Croatian cuisine, then learned Ukrainian as well. I cooked borscht on the third day after tasting it.”

“We lived in Zaporizhzhia, sometimes we went to Croatia. I like Ukraine very much. I didn’t work here because I have a Croatian military pension. I did the household chores: I cooked dishes of Croatian cuisine, then learned Ukrainian as well. I cooked borscht on the third day after tasting it.”

– source

After the start of the full-scale war, Toni evacuated his wife and relatives to Croatia, and he himself went to the military enlistment office: “I went to the military enlistment office because I am a Croatian war veteran, a volunteer. I fought in 1991-1995, when there was a war between Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a soldier with the rank of senior sergeant in Croatia, I decided that I could be of use here. At the enlistment office they took my details, sent me to the Military Medical Commission, told me to wait a month, but no one contacted me.”

In 2023, the family returned to Zaporizhzhia, after which Toni joined the voluntary formation of the territorial community, later joining the platoon-tactical group “Steppe Wolves.” He said that he works with the Grad system and trained as a gunner, but now serves as an operator. He added: “I was not afraid to be in Ukraine when the war started. I have this experience. And when I go out on combat missions, I always say a prayer.”

“I was not afraid to be in Ukraine when the war started. I have this experience, and when I go out on combat missions, I always say a prayer”

– source

Toni described the process of learning Ukrainian as follows:

“I learned Ukrainian online. I was told to speak and not be afraid – that’s how I learned to speak Ukrainian. It wasn’t hard for me to learn, because these are Slavic languages, and Ukrainian and Croatian are very similar”

– source

He also stresses the importance of his past experience:

“I went to the military enlistment office because I am a Croatian war veteran, a volunteer. I fought in 1991-1995, when there was a war between Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a soldier with the rank of senior sergeant in Croatia, I decided that I could be of use here. At the enlistment office they took my data, sent me to the Military Medical Commission, told me to wait a month, but no one contacted me”

– source

After the victory, Toni plans to stay in Ukraine: “I want to fight until Ukraine’s victory. I want to live in Ukraine. War is abnormal, but fighting for human lives is normal. And I will fight to the end.”