Hungary has placed the gas pipeline straddling the Serbian border under military protection, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Monday, after Serbia reported finding “explosives of devastating power” near the infrastructure. The development comes days before a tightly contested national election, in which Orbán’s Fidesz party is trailing in most polls.
Opposition candidate Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider, accused Orbán of orchestrating a “false-flag” operation to influence the ballot. “This is nothing more than the cheap theatre of a fearful regime,” Magyar said on social media, noting that a poster bearing the words “Comrades, it’s over” appeared behind Orbán during his announcement.
Orbán did not address the false-flag allegations directly but emphasised the pipeline’s importance. “This pipeline is important, it is our lifeline,” he said in a video, adding that Hungarian defence forces were capable of defending it. He and other government officials had earlier implied Ukrainian involvement, a charge Kyiv rejected, describing it as a “Russian false-flag operation as part of Moscow’s heavy interference in Hungarian elections”.
Serbia’s counterintelligence director, Đuro Jovanić, countered claims of Ukrainian responsibility, stating that markings on the explosives were American, though he did not attribute the plot to any specific group. The Kremlin, however, said without evidence that it believed Ukraine planted the explosives, citing previous sabotage incidents.
The controversy coincides with a two-day visit by US Vice President JD Vance, whose trip has raised questions given the Trump administration’s history of supporting leaders aligned with its ideology. Orbán, who has positioned himself as the EU’s most Moscow-friendly leader, faces an unprecedented challenge from Magyar, whose campaign has gained traction amid public discontent with Orbán’s record.
Former senior counterintelligence officer Peter Buda told the Guardian that plans for a false-flag attack had been “an open secret” since February. Magyar has expressed concern that Orbán might use the incident to delay or cancel the election, scheduled for 12 April. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, also backed the false-flag narrative, claiming Ukraine’s involvement was “highly likely”.
