Serbia thwarts plot to bomb Russia-Hungary gas pipeline – Vucic
The Serbian authorities have discovered explosives of “devastating power” planted near a key gas pipeline transporting Russian energy to Hungary, President Aleksandar Vucic has announced, adding that he has briefed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the matter. This comes after Ukraine essentially shut down Russian oil supplies to Hungary through its territory.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Vucic said “two large packages of explosives with sticks” were found in the municipality of Kanjiza, around 10 km from the Hungarian border.
The city of Kanjiza is located near the Balkan Stream gas pipeline – the regional extension of the TurkStream pipeline. The Balkan Stream runs through Türkiye, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and currently ends at Slovakia’s border. Hungary imports 7.4-7.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually via Serbia.
Vucic said the Serbian intelligence agencies “fortunately, did a good job” and vowed to ramp up energy security in the area. “We will deal mercilessly with anyone who thinks they are endangering the vital infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia,” he said.
The president did not assign blame but said he spoke with Orban about the situation, noting that an explosion would have caused gas outages in Hungary and northern Serbia.
Orban has confirmed the phone call, saying “the investigation is ongoing” and that he “has called an emergency defense council for this afternoon.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also weighed in, saying Budapest “firmly reject[s] this latest attack, as undermining the security of our energy supply is an attack on our sovereignty.”
Later on Sunday, he said the government had held a Defense Council meeting, after which Orban ordered military protection for the Hungarian section of the pipeline. Soldiers would guard it and its transfer points along its entire route from the Serbian-Hungarian border to the Hungarian-Slovak border to ensure the country’s energy security, Szijjarto said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has suggested that the masterminds of the plot are seeking “to strip Hungary of its sovereignty.”
“They are doing this in various ways: Politically, by trying to interfere in internal affairs and elections; economically, by forcing it to make decisions under pressure that harm the economy and the well-being of Hungarians, and through energy, by trying to prevent Hungary from obtaining quality resources at reasonable prices.”
Hungary and Ukraine have for months butted heads over supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. In January, Kiev shut down the pipeline, citing a Russian drone strike on the infrastructure. Moscow has dismissed the claim; Hungary and Slovakia accused Kiev of lying and using the purported strike as grounds for political blackmail.
Ukraine has on numerous occasions also attempted to attack TurkStream infrastructure. Russia has accused Ukrainian saboteurs of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, suggesting that the attack was supported by Western intelligence services.
