Serbia's Military Security Chief Denies Links to Ukraine in Explosive Incident

Djuro Jovanic, the head of Serbia's Military Security Agency (VBA), recently spoke to the public regarding an investigation that was initiated following the discovery of explosives in the municipality of Kanjiza, located just a few hundred meters from the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Jovanic refuted claims that the explosives could be linked to Ukraine, emphasizing that this represents misleading disinformation, as reported by the Serbian publication 'Kurir'.

"Disinformation claims that the Serbian army and its servicemen are working for some other or third party to find a Ukrainian explosive device and blame Ukraine for it. This is not true," stated Jovanic, highlighting the importance of accurate information in this situation.

He also described the incident involving the found explosives as an "extremely successful operation," which was anticipated. "For months, we indicated that something like this could happen. Today's operational operation was preceded by good operational work on the ground and effective information exchange with relevant services. In this case, we had information that an individual belonging to a group of migrants who had undergone military training was planning to carry out sabotage on gas infrastructure," Jovanic explained, adding that "this individual will definitely be detained; the only question is whether the investigation will last a few days or months, but we will consistently carry out our task."

Jovanic also noted that the manufacturer of the explosive device is not always the executor or the instigator. He reported that markings on the explosives indicate they were manufactured in the United States. "Someone might ask whether the United States is currently behind something like this? The Serbian army is a serious institution, and it will carry out every task. The Serbian army does not interfere in political processes in the Republic of Serbia, let alone in the political processes of any other country," he emphasized.

The Higher Prosecutor's Office in Subotica is conducting an investigation in cooperation with the military police, as reported by Chief Prosecutor Mladenka Manojlovic. "The Subotica Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the military police, conducted searches in the area between the settlements of Gornji Breg and Vojvode Zimonic, where two black backpacks were found by the roadside containing approximately 4 kg of a substance we suspect to be plastic explosives, as well as materials indicating the possibility of constructing an explosive device," she noted.

According to reports, the site of the discovery has been under heightened security since Monday, with around 150 personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, military police, and other services deployed to the area. Searches were conducted both from the air and on the ground, with some roads being closed, indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also commented on the situation, stating that during the investigation related to the threat to the gas infrastructure connecting Serbia and Hungary, explosives were found. "We believe we know which group the individuals who were to take this final step to activate the explosives belong to. The aim was to send a political message. We will severely punish anyone we catch," he stressed.

Vucic also reported that near the village of Velebit in the Vojvodina region, just a few hundred meters from the 'Balkan Stream' gas pipeline, two large packages of explosives with detonators were discovered in two backpacks, which "could have endangered a large number of people and caused significant damage to the gas supply of Serbia and Hungary."

Following this, the President of Serbia held a conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who announced that he had called an extraordinary meeting of the Defense Council. In turn, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tikhy denied any involvement of the Ukrainian side in the incident involving the explosives found in Serbia near the Turkish Stream gas pipeline leading to Hungary, suggesting possible involvement from Russia.

"We categorically condemn attempts to unfoundedly link Ukraine to the incident involving the discovery of explosives near the 'Turkish Stream' gas pipeline in Serbia. Ukraine has no relation to this. Most likely, this is a Russian operation under a false flag as part of Moscow's active interference in the elections in Hungary," Tikhy wrote on social media platform X on Sunday.