Serbian Intelligence Denies Involvement Of Ukraine In Explosives Incident Near Turkstream Pipeline

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Politico stated this in an article, according to Ukrinform.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a close ally of Orbán, said on Sunday that authorities had discovered "an explosive of devastating power" near the pipeline that transports Russian gas from Serbia to neighboring Hungary. Orbán said the same day, after convening an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, that Serbian authorities had uncovered a "sabotage operation" in Vojvodina, Serbia, and linked it to Ukraine, which he claimed had been "working for years to cut Europe off from Russian energy" and posed a "direct threat to Hungary," although he did not formally accuse Kyiv.

However, the director of Belgrade's Military Security Agency (VBA), Đuro Jovanić, said on Sunday evening that it is "not true that the Ukrainians tried to organize" this act of sabotage, which involved "explosives specially packaged, hermetically sealed, detonator caps."

Read also: Ukraine denies involvement in explosives incident near gas pipeline in Serbia

"The manufacturer of the explosives does not mean that he is also the one who ordered or executed it. The markings on the explosives show that it was manufactured in the U.S.," he said.

Orbán's claims of sabotage also drew skepticism from his main rival in Sunday's election, Péter Magyar, who is seeking to unseat the pro-Russian prime minister. Magyar suggested that Orbán – who has made Hungary's energy security and Budapest's hostility toward Kyiv a cornerstone of his campaign – may have staged a false-flag operation with the "help of Serbian and Russian (actors)" amid declining support for his Fidesz party.

"If Viktor Orbán and his propaganda use this provocation for campaign purposes, it will be an open admission that this is a pre-planned false flag operation," Magyar added.

As previously reported, President Aleksandar Vučić said on April 5 that police had discovered explosives near the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Kyiv has no connection to the incident in Serbia.

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