Attempted sabotage of the gas pipeline between Serbia and Hungary. What is known

Explosives and detonators were found on the gas infrastructure leading to Hungary in Serbia. Budapest takes its section of the pipe under military protection. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Pipeline sabotage

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that on the morning of April 5, Serbian security forces found explosives near the village of Velebit. The dangerous items were located several hundred meters from the gas pipeline, which is called the "Turkish", "Southern" or "Balkan" stream. According to the Serbian leader, two backpacks and two packages of explosives, as well as detonators, were found at the site.

Vucic noted that other traces were found during the inspection of the territory, and the army and police are investigating. The President clarified that law enforcement agencies have certain intelligence leads, but the details have not yet been disclosed. Information about the incident was promptly transmitted to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

"Serbian authorities have discovered explosives of destructive power and the means necessary to activate them on the critical gas infrastructure connecting Serbia and Hungary. The investigation is ongoing," Orban wrote on his social media page.

The reaction of the Hungarian authorities

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the incident a gross attack on the sovereignty and energy security of the country. According to him, disabling the pipeline would have dealt a heavy blow to the economy and forced the republic to purchase fuel at significantly higher prices. In connection with the threat, the Hungarian Prime Minister ordered to strengthen the protection of the strategic facility.

The Foreign Minister explained that the army would protect a section of the gas pipeline in Hungary, from the border with Serbia to the border with Slovakia. Szijjarto stressed that Budapest intends to protect the energy supply of Hungarian families, for which the country needs Russian oil and gas. The Foreign Minister also mentioned that earlier the Ukrainian side had tried to organize an oil embargo and an energy blockade of the region.

"This was a very crude attempt to attack our sovereignty, as an attack on our energy supply and energy security is at the same time an attack on our sovereignty. We will protect Hungary, we will protect the energy supply of Hungarian families and the economy," Szijjarto said.

Protection of critical infrastructure

After the incident, the head of the Hungarian diplomatic department held talks with colleagues from Serbia, Turkey and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Energy. The participants in the dialogue agreed that the physical protection of the pipeline system should become more decisive against the background of increased attacks. The parties agreed to maintain constant contact to coordinate actions to ensure the security of supplies.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense confirmed the discovery of a large number of equipment for preparing sabotage in the immediate vicinity of the gas infrastructure. It is reported that service dogs and department specialists were working at the site. Currently, the relevant services of both countries are continuing to check the area for other questionable items.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.