N1 reported that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said earlier today that two large packages of explosives with sticks were found on the territory of the municipality of Kanjiža and pointed out that the Serbian Armed Forces managed to prevent an action against the vital interests of the country today.
Vučić told reporters that he spoke with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and that he informed him about the investigation, stating that if the action had been successful, Hungary and northern Serbia would have been left without gas.
He said that two large packages containing explosives and detonators were found not far from the settlement of Velebit, near the “Balkan Stream” gas pipeline, which transports Russian gas coming from Turkey to interconnections to Serbia and Hungary.
Serbian media further reports that prosecutor Mladenka Manojlović from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Subotica stated that the prosecution qualified the case in Kanjiža, in which explosives were found, as a criminal offense of illegal production, carrying, and trafficking of weapons and explosive materials in conjunction with the crime of diversion.
Manojlović told the media that during the investigation between the settlements of Gornji Breg and Vojvoda Zimonjić, two black backpacks with about four kilograms of substance were found near the road.
“We assume that it is a plastic explosive, as well as material that indicates that an explosive device could be made,” added Manojlović.
N1 reported that the Director of the Military Security Agency (VBA), Đuro Jovanić, assessed that action in Kanjiža was preceded by good field work and that they “had information that a person from a group of migrants would try to sabotage the gas infrastructure.” He stressed that the person would be detained.
“For months, we have been warning the Supreme Commander, President Aleksandar Vučić, as well as the state leadership, that something like this could happen today. To be honest, we encountered skepticism, disapproval, and disagreement. As in the case when we had to present relevant indicators that the stations and gas infrastructure could be endangered,” Jovanić said.
He also said that “it is not true that the Ukrainians tried to organize this diversion,” because, as he explained, “the manufacturer of the explosives does not mean that he is also the one who ordered or executed it.”
“We found explosives specially packaged, hermetically sealed, detonator caps – specially prepared and packaged for transport, as well as detonating fuses and suitable tools and equipment for preparing this explosive to carry out a diversion. The markings on the explosives show that it was manufactured in the USA,” the VBA director said.
The municipality of Kanjiža is located in Vojvodina, Serbia’s northern province, which is the home of most of the Hungarian ethnic population that resides in Serbia.
The president of the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM, a Hungarian minority party in Serbia, which is cozy with Fidesz, and a coalition partner of the ruling Serbian Progressives), Balint Pastor, wrote on Facebook that if it is proven that Hungary was the target of the alleged explosive plot, it would mean that it was an attempt to overthrow Viktor Orban. “Once again it has been shown: in our interest are order, security, peace, stability, and predictability – not circus, inciting tensions and agitation without a program,” he wrote.
Back in the Milošević days, any opposition was labeled as “forces of chaos and insanity”. You see, people who didn’t simply adore the Dear Leader just break stuff because they are Evil™ and hate Normal Life™.
Helmut Brandstätter, an Austrian MEP from Renew Europe and a former journalist, does not seem amused by Orban’s claims about the bombing plot in Kanjiža, Vojvodina. “So you could not invent an even more stupid story???” he posted on X.
Vijesti reported that Michal Szczerba, a long-time member of the Polish parliament and current Member of the European Parliament (MEP), wrote that the European Union does not need another Russian outpost in the EU. “If it is confirmed that the current leadership of Serbia is involved in the Russian pre-election operation in Hungary, this will no longer be a neutral position (of that country) on the path to EU membership,” Shcherba wrote on X.
As for the Serbian society’s reaction to such news, even the government supporters here are skeptical about anything the authorities report. The never-ending alleged assassination plots against Vučić that were supposedly uncovered over the years (there was one recently) got everyone jaded when these stories come up.
The vice president of the opposition League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), Aleksandar Olenik, stated that the police action near Kanjiza was bad theatrics and an attempt by Aleksandar Vucic to save Viktor Orban from electoral defeat.
Just FYI, Hungary’s ruling party often sports nationalist, revanchist imagery illustrating Greater Hungary that encompasses parts of the neighbouring countries, including the Vojvodina province of Serbia.
You’d think that such pretensions would give Serbian nationalists pause over further cooperation with Fidesz.
Serbianism 