ISTANBUL

Ukraine on Sunday “categorically” rejected attempts to “falsely link” Kyiv to explosives found near the Serbia-Hungary TurkStream gas pipeline.

Ukraine “has nothing to do with this,” stressed Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.

“Most probably, (it was) a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow’s heavy interference in Hungarian elections,” he wrote on US social media platform X, referring to Hungary’s general elections set for next Sunday, April 12.

Explosive materials with high destructive power were found near a gas pipeline connecting Serbia and Hungary, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Sunday after speaking with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Suspicious objects were discovered near the villages of Velebit, Tresnjevac and Vojvoda Zimonjic in the municipality of Kanjiza, close to critical gas infrastructure, according to local media reports.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Sunday that Hungary is being deprived of its sovereignty through various means, including attempts to deny it access to high-quality resources at “reasonable prices.”

Speaking to state news agency Tass about the discovery of explosives near the gas pipeline, she said forces are trying to deprive Hungary of its sovereignty “in various ways: politically, by attempting to interfere in internal affairs and elections; economically, by forcing it to make dictated decisions that harm the economy and the well-being of Hungarians; and through energy, by trying to prevent Hungary from obtaining high-quality and reasonably priced resources.”

Budapest “has rebuffed all previous attempts,” she said.

"Then they switched to forceful scenarios, which were tested with the Nord Stream project," she added.