Ukraine not involved in explosives incident near gas pipeline in Serbia, officials say
Heorhii Tykhyi (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Kyiv has no connection to the incident in Serbia, where explosives were found near the TurkStream gas pipeline.
"We categorically reject attempts to falsely link Ukraine to the incident with explosives found near the Turkstream pipeline in Serbia. Ukraine has nothing to do with this," spokesperson Tykhyi wrote.
He added that the incident is likely a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow's broader interference in the Hungarian elections.
Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó posted that Hungary, Russia, Turkey, and Serbia have agreed to strengthen the pipeline protection against potential attacks. According to him, Budapest will provide military security for the section of the pipeline from Serbia to Slovakia.
Background
On the morning of April 5, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reported that an explosive device had been found at a gas infrastructure site connecting Serbia and Hungary.
Media later clarified that backpacks containing explosives were discovered near the Serbian villages of Velebit and Vojvoda Zimonić, close to the main gas pipeline route.
Experts concluded that the explosives would have been sufficient to destroy a compressor station and cause a prolonged halt in gas transit to Hungary.
