Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Sunday that high-powered explosives were discovered during an investigation into threats against gas infrastructure near the Hungary border.
Vučić stated that he informed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of the findings via a phone call.
“I presented him with the initial results of the investigation by our military and police authorities regarding the threat to the critical gas infrastructure connecting Serbia and Hungary,” Vučić wrote on Instagram.
Orbán later confirmed that he had been informed. The Hungarian Prime Minister, an ally of Vučić, posted on Facebook that “Serbian authorities have found destructive explosives and the necessary activation devices in critical gas infrastructure linking Serbia and Hungary.”
In addition to explosives, fuses were also found. During a visit to the Expo construction site in Belgrade, Vučić emphasized that near the settlement of Velebit in northern Vojvodina, just a few hundred meters from the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, two large backpacks containing explosives with fuses were discovered.
“These could have endangered a large number of people and caused serious disruption to gas supplies in Serbia and Hungary,” he said.
Vučić added that intelligence agencies in Serbia “did a good job,” and investigators believe they know which group the suspects belong to. “The intent was to send a political message. We will severely punish anyone we catch,” he said.
Hungarian media portal Index reported that Orbán planned a Defense Council meeting on Sunday afternoon in response to the explosives found near the Serbian gas pipeline.
Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) reported that police and military units were checking the area in northern Serbia, near the municipality of Kanjiža, about fifteen kilometers from the Hungary border. Ground searches were coordinated with aerial support using helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging, and other counter-sabotage equipment.
The operation was conducted with approval from the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Subotica. Authorities have not yet released further details on the security actions in northern Serbia.
On March 19, Serbian military forces increased security at the compressor station in Žabar, eastern Serbia, on the Balkan Stream pipeline transporting Russian gas from Turkey to Hungary. Vučić explained that the facility would be guarded by the military due to regional security concerns related to the Middle East.
