Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called an emergency defence council on Sunday (5 April) after powerful explosives were discovered near a pipeline in Serbia that carries Russian gas to Hungary.
The finding comes just days before Hungary’s national election, adding tension to an already sensitive political climate.
Orbán said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a close ally, had phoned him to report the discovery near the town of Kanjiza, close to the Hungarian border.
“Our units found an explosive of devastating power,” Vučić wrote on Instagram. “I told PM Orbán that we would keep him updated on the investigation.”
Officials in Budapest and Belgrade have not commented further on the incident. The timing has raised eyebrows, with opinion polls showing Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing ahead of the 12 April vote.
Questions are already being raised in political circles. Former Hungarian intelligence officials told Reuters there had been recent talks about a potential “false-flag” operation targeting the pipeline in Serbia, possibly to influence the election.
Opposition leader Peter Magyar of the Tisza party expressed scepticism. “Several people publicly indicated that something would ‘accidentally’ happen at the gas pipeline in Serbia at Easter, a week before the elections. And so it happened,” he said.
After the defence council meeting, Orbán suggested the explosives were part of a sabotage attempt aimed at the pipeline, which carries Russian gas through the Balkans to Central and Eastern Europe.
“According to information that we have… there was an act of sabotage prepared,” Orbán said on social media, adding that both Hungary and Serbia had increased protection around the pipeline.
While he did not directly blame Ukraine, Orbán claimed the country has long sought to cut off Europe from Russian energy.
“The Russian section of TurkStream is also under continuous military attack. Ukraine’s efforts pose a life-threatening danger to Hungary,” he added.
Serbia’s Military Intelligence Agency head Djuro Jusic said the explosives were produced in the United States and hinted that a person from a migrant community with military training might have been involved. Authorities in Serbia are currently searching for that individual.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry rejected any suggestion of involvement. “Ukraine has nothing to do with this,” spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on X.
“Most probably, a Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow’s interference in Hungarian elections.”
The incident has also intensified Hungary’s ongoing disputes with Ukraine over oil supplies, while Orbán’s party has linked opposition figures to Brussels and Kyiv, framing the election in starkly nationalistic terms. Russia has voiced support for Hungary and suggested Ukraine may be responsible.
Hungary remains an European Union outlier in maintaining ties with Moscow, and Sunday’s incident has only deepened concerns over energy security as the country heads to the polls.
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