PRISTINA / BELGRADE – Following the explosion on the Ibar Lepenac/Ibër-Lepenci water canal in Zubin Potok late on Friday, 29 November, the Government of Kosovo blamed Serbia and the official Belgrade for the incident. Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti stated that Serbia has “both the interest and the capability to execute such attacks”. In a subsequent statement, he also pointed out that Milan Radoičić, who took responsibility for last year’s Banjska attack, was still free in Serbia which, according to him, encouraged further attacks.
Meanwhile, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday that he could directly accuse Albin Kurti of ordering the attack for internal political reasons, but will wait until Serbia itself is finished with the investigation. Vučić and other Serbian officials categorically rejected any blame.
Representatives of the European Union and the United States condemned the attack and supported a full investigation. On Monday, 2 December, US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier stated that, while it is early to tell who is responsible, “no group or country should be excluded”, Radio Free Europe reports.
Kosovo police carried out raids in various locations over the weekend. According to KoSSev, at least eight people were arrested. A suspect Dragiša Vićentijević, a resident of Kosovo, was kept in custody but denies any guilt. The majority of other suspects were released, though official confirmations are still lacking, KoSSev reports.
Nobody was hurt in the explosion. The supply of water to several areas was affected, but it was mostly restored by the end of the weekend.
Kosovo officials blame Serbia
Addressing the public hours after the attack, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti said that it was carried out by professionals, and that the government believes it comes from gangs directed and orchestrated by Serbia, “which has the interest, willingness and ability to cause such attacks and damage”.
“In our firm belief… there can be no other address for responsibility and guilt than official Belgrade and their criminal structures, headed by Milan Radoičić, with the support of Serbian institutions and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. He (Radoičić)… is now at large in Serbia and conducts with the paramilitary and criminal elements there, peace criminals and war criminals who hate our Republic and our people”, Kurti said.
In the following days, Kurti also repeatedly drew parallels with the Russian attacks on critical infrastructure of Ukraine, which is currently ongoing.
In his address on 1 December, Kurti said that the Government had taken a series of measures to identify and hold those responsible for the attack accountable and, on the other hand, to minimize the damage to Kosovo’s infrastructure.
“Had the attack been successful, it would have kept large swaths of Kosovo without water, electricity and heating, potentially for weeks”, he said.
In this address, Kurti did not directly blame the Serbian government for the attack, but for keeping Milan Radoičić free.
“The freedom of Milan Radoičić in Serbia, apart from the open protection of the terrorist by the Serbian authorities, is also an encouragement to others to commit terrorist and criminal acts in Kosovo. This attitude gives a clear message that such actions are not only tolerated there, but also supported by the Serbian state”, Kurti said.
He added that, after the attack on Banjska, other attacks followed, including this one.
“These events prove that Serbia did not take any steps to prevent terrorism. On the contrary, its actions encourage the destabilization of the region. Serbia continues to support terrorist groups with weapons, finances and logistics”, said Kurti.
President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani released a statement on 30 November, describing the attack as “a direct replication of Putin’s playbook, a deliberate strategy of targeting critical infrastructure during some of the coldest days of the year”.
“This is no random act of violence; it is a calculated move intended to instil fear, unrest and confusion in Kosovo and beyond. Which is why Serbia’s accountability for this act is utterly important, because impunity will only embolden this Russian satellite to organize further attacks”, Osmani’s statement reads.
Serbia denies guilt, Vučić alludes that Kurti ordered the attack
On 30 November, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić posted on X that he had met with the ambassadors of the Quint – US, UK, France, Germany, Italy – and the EU regarding the explosion, writing that Serbia condemns the act and requests a full investigation.
“Pristina’s accusations are unfounded and unsubstantiated, designed to discredit Belgrade at a sensitive time, exploit the situation for political gain, and use it as a tool in the pre-election campaign in Kosovo and Metohija”, Đurić wrote.
In his own address to the media on 1 December, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić denied any involvement of the country, saying that Belgrade is carrying out its own investigations and that it stands ready to help Pristina, EULEX and KFOR.
“In addition to the fact that we have nothing to do with this, we, as a serious country, have not accused anybody. We have not said, and I will not say it today, that Kurti directly ordered this attack. The investigation will show, because we are carrying out our own investigation”, said Vučić.
He said he was thankful to KFOR for refusing to accept the Kosovo Security Forces into the north. According to Vučić, this is one of the reasons why Pristina is accusing Belgrade of organizing the attack so that they could deploy KSF in the North.
Vučić also mentioned other reasons for why he believes Kurti is accusing Serbia, including the attempt to stop the European integration process of Serbia, to disqualify the Serbian List in the upcoming Kosovo parliamentary elections in February 2025 and to boost Kurti’s own popularity leading up to the vote.
The international community demands an investigation
On 1 December, Matthew Miller, Spokesman of the US State Department, condemned the attack on Kosovo’s water supply.
“We will support efforts to find and punish those responsible and appreciate all offers of support to that effort. Thanks to emergency workers and others including KFOR for restoring essential supplies”, Miller wrote.
His statement was preceded by that of the US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeff Hovenier, who also condemned recent grenade attacks at the Zvecan police station on November 26 and at the Zvecan municipality building on November 28.
We condemn the 11/29 attack on Kosovo’s water supply. We will support efforts to find and punish those responsible and appreciate all offers of support to that effort. Thanks to emergency workers and others including KFOR for restoring essential supplies. https://t.co/3SvlWuIDEM
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) December 1, 2024
European External Action Service released a statement of the High Representative on 30 November, the last day in office of Josep Borrell, who was succeeded by Kaja Kallas on the following day.
“The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack committed on Friday on the Iber Lepenc/Ibar Lepenac water canal in Zubin Potok in north Kosovo. It is a despicable act of sabotage on Kosovo’s critical civilian infrastructure, which provides drinking water for a considerable part of Kosovo’s population and is a vital component of Kosovo’s energy system”, reads the statement.
The EU has offered support to Kosovo’s authorities continues to coordinate next steps with relevant partners, and stands in solidarity with all those across Kosovo who have been affected by the attack, the statement reads.
“The criminal action committed in Zubin Potok must be investigated and its perpetrators brought to justice. In this respect, the EU calls on all stakeholders to cooperate fully with the Kosovo authorities and will continue to closely follow the developments”, stated Josep Borrell, according to EEAS.
In his address on 1 December, Vučić said that he very much regrets the statement of Josep Borrell.
“But I know he did that under pressure from a certain Mr (Aivo) Orav, an Estonian, chief of the EU mission to Kosovo and Metohija. He acted a bit prematurely, but this is how things go”, Vučić said.