Serbia says explosive found near pipeline to Hungary, days before crucial election

Serbian authorities found “an explosive of devastating power” near a gas pipeline connecting the country to its neighbor Hungary, Serbia’s president said on Sunday, a claim that could rock the last week of campaigning ahead of crucial Hungarian elections on April 12.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in a social media post that he had spoken with his close ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to inform him on the early stages of the investigation into the incident.

Orbán said on X that he had “convened an emergency defense council” after speaking with Vučić.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said “someone tried to blow up the TurkStream pipeline,” which conveys Russian natural gas into Hungary. “Undermining the security of our energy supply is an attack on our sovereignty,” Szijjártó said in a post on X.

Those claims were quickly met with skepticism by Orbán’s main opponent, Péter Magyar, who is looking to unseat the pro-Russia prime minister in next Sunday’s vote.

Orbán has made energy security a central issue amid a tense campaign, and Magyar has suggested that Vučić’s claim could be a false flag operation staged by two allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Viktor Orbán wants to cross a new border with the help of Serbian and Russian [actors], due to the collapse of the support of Fidesz,” Magyar said in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon. “Many people have publicly indicated that something will ‘accidentally’ happen in Serbia at the gas pipeline at Easter, a week before the Hungarian elections.”

Magyar said he had asked Orbán to keep him informed about the situation and invite him to the defense council meeting. He also stressed that the incident should not be used to postpone next week’s vote and “prevent millions of Hungarians from closing the most corrupt two decades in the history of our country.”

“If Viktor Orbán and his propaganda use this provocation for campaign purposes, it will be an open admission that this is a pre-planned false flag operation,” Magyar added.

Orbán has tried to characterize Magyar as being a pro-Ukraine candidate, and has claimed that an opposition victory would drag Hungary into a war with Russia. He has accused Ukraine of trying to intervene in the campaign, while Magyar accused the incumbent prime minister of “outright treason” for his close ties with Russia.

Hungary has opposed sanctions on Russian oil and gas, which Budapest says are essential to the country’s economy. Budapest has also been blocking a €90 billion European Union loan to Ukraine over claims that Kyiv was purposefully halting Russian oil supplies to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline, while Ukrainian authorities have said that the pipeline is not operational due to Russian drone strikes.