Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: We reject attempts to falsely link Ukraine to the explosives found at the Turkish Stream

Ukraine has nothing to do with the explosives found near the Turkish Stream gas pipeline in Serbia, Heorhii Tykhyi, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday. In a post on X, he wrote that the incident is likely part of a Russian false-flag operation aimed at interfering in the Hungarian elections.

"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. Most probably, a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow’s heavy interference in Hungarian elections," the spokesperson wrote.

The Serbian press reported on Sunday morning that suspicious items had been found near the Turkish Stream gas pipeline connecting Hungary and Serbia, near the village of Trešnjevac. Serbian police and military personnel were deployed to the site, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that powerful explosives and detonation devices had been found near the pipeline. Vučić said he had informed Viktor Orbán of this. According to the Serbian Prosecutor General’s Office, the plastic explosives were found in two black backpacks, along with tools used to assemble them. Serbian authorities are investigating on suspicion of the unauthorized manufacture, possession, and trafficking of weapons and explosives, as well as sabotage.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó immediately accused Ukraine of the alleged act of sabotage and responded to the news by stating, “We reject this latest attack on our sovereignty in the strongest possible terms, since an attack on the security of our energy supply can only be interpreted as an attack on our sovereignty.”

Tamás Menczer, director of communications for Fidesz, wrote on his social media page that a terrorist attack had been foiled near the Hungarian border, adding that the investigation may provide answers to the arising questions, whilst the energy infrastructure supplying Hungary “must be protected both on the territory of Hungary and on the territory of other countries, as we are well aware that the Ukrainians have already blown up the Nord Stream gas pipeline before.”

At Sunday’s meeting of the Defense Council, Viktor Orbán ordered the Hungarian section of the Turkish Stream to be placed under military protection, with troops guarding the natural gas pipeline and transfer points from the Serbian-Hungarian border to the Hungarian-Slovak border. According to the PM, Serbian authorities are investigating, and Hungarian authorities are in regular constant contact with them. “European countries need energy from Russia, and they will need it even more in the future. For years, Ukraine has been working to cut Europe off from this source,” Orbán said. In his view, these efforts by Ukraine pose a threat to Hungary’s very existence.

Péter Buda, a national security expert and former senior national security officer, writing on his Substack, pointed out that “in certain circles, based on leaked information, there had already been talk of a false-flag operation planned against critical infrastructure of Hungarian interest on the Serbian side of the border.” According to Buda, he had spoken on multiple occasions in the past few months leading up to the Hungarian elections about the possibility of explosive devices being found near critical infrastructure that is of interest to Hungary.

Two days ago, Russia expert András Rácz posted on Facebook about a similar scenario – albeit with different names – in which a similar type of threat occurs on the territory of Serbia. Rácz told 24.hu on Sunday that “from the perspective of a fictional attacker, it would be very strange to attempt an assassination now. This only benefits Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz campaign. No one else".