Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti briefed Western diplomats on Monday as the investigation continued into the explosion that damaged critical canal infrastructure, following eight arrests at the weekend. Kosovo officials have blamed Serbia for the attack.

The US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Monday after the briefing that it was not yet clear who was behind Friday’s explosion on the Iber-Lepenc/Ibar-Lepenac canal in northern Kosovo.

“At this point, the United States is not in a position to say who is behind the attack. This is early on and these things require careful investigation. We have offered our support to the authorities of Kosovo. We are not in a position to exclude any state or group or anything else,” Hovenier said.

The EU ambassador to Kosovo, Aivo Orav, reiterated a weekend statement by the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, describing the blast as “a despicable act of sabotage on Kosovo’s critical civilian infrastructure, which provides drinking water for considerable part of Kosovo’s population and is a vital component of Kosovo’s energy system”.

Serbia has denied involvement. “Belgrade and Serbia had no knowledge [of the explosion], nor would it ever occur to us to do that,” President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday.

Eight arrests were made at the weekend and weapons were found during raids on ten locations. Kosovo Police Director Gazmend Hoxha said that over 200 military uniforms, six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, three hand grenades, two AK-47s, a revolver and other ammunition were found.

One suspect’s name has been made public so far – an ethnic Serb called Dragisa Vicentijevic who Prishtina Basic court remanded in custody on Sunday for 30 days on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack.

After the court session, his lawyer, Milos Delevic, told the media that his client was innocent. “The fact that wet and dirty boots and weapons were found in someone’s home cannot be sufficient evidence to support the charges of committing these serious crimes. At that time, he was in a completely different place, where there were many witnesses,” Delevic said.

Kosovo’s Interior Minister, Xhelal Svecla, said those arrested were related to two groups operating in the Serb-majority north of the country, Civilna Zastita (Civil Protection) and Brigada Sever (Northern Brigade), which Kosovo has declared terrorist organisations.

The canal hit by the blast supplies several towns through the Ujman/Gazivoda Lake, as well as the Kosovo Energy Corporation, cooling its power plants, Kosova A and Kosova B.

Kurti said on Sunday that “the goal [of the blast] was to endanger our national security and damage the critical infrastructure of the country” and, if successful, the damage could have been huge.

“We would have been without electricity for weeks. Direct damage from the need for imports alone would have been 2.5 million euros per day and another 100,000 [euros] for water,” Kurti said.

Kurti alleged that the blast was inspired by Russia’s airstrikes on Ukraine, which have targeted energy networks and critical infrastructure. “Russian military emblems and Russian imperial flags were found [in the raids after the blast]. Serbia is copying Russian methods,” he claimed.

Since the blast, Kosovo has stepped up security at important infrastructure sites, such as bridges, electrical substations, reservoirs and canals, officials said. Members of the Kosovo Security Forces, KSF, were deployed at important energy infrastructure locations in Obiliq/Obilic and Vushtrri/Vucitrn on Saturday.

NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, told Radio Free Europe on Sunday that Kosovo’s request to deploy KSF soldiers in the Serb-majority north for extra security after the explosion had not been approved.

KFOR said on Facebook on Sunday that “US soldiers assigned to Regional Command East of the NATO-led KFOR mission continue to conduct dismounted patrols and security observation points in Zubin Potok, Kosovo. KFOR troops stand ready to deploy and provide security for all people of Kosovo”.

On Sunday evening, PM Kurti conceded: “We are limited in the north, as our army [the KSF], based on the 2013 agreement [with Serbia], cannot go to the north”.

Kurti meanwhile called again on the international community to pressure Serbia to hand over Kosovo Serb kingpin Milan Radoicic, who has said he was responsible for the attack by an armed Serb group in Banjska in northern Kosovo in 2023 that left one police officer dead. Kurti said the fact that Radoicic has not been brought to justice was “encouraging others to commit attacks”.

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