Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced the discovery, on Sunday in Kanjiza, in northern Serbia, of explosives near the route of the gas pipeline which supplies Russian gas to Serbia and neighboring Hungary. Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar suggested the incident could be a "false flag" operation orchestrated with the aim of disrupting next Sunday's elections in his country.
Published on: 04/05/2026 - 9:46 p.m. Modified on: 04/05/2026 - 11:27 p.m.
Backpacks containing explosives were found on Sunday April 5 in Kanjiza, in northern Serbia, near the route of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline which supplies Russian gas to Serbia and neighboring Hungary, announced Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The two bags containing "large packages of explosives and detonators" were found by the police and the army "a few hundred meters from the gas pipeline", said Aleksandar Vucic, praising "the good work of the Serbian intelligence services". “I informed the Hungarian Prime Minister of the first elements of the investigation carried out by our military and police authorities into the threat targeting this critical gas infrastructure,” he added, without mentioning possible suspects or motives.
He simply mentioned "traces", about which he could not say anything immediately, and specified that the explosive would have had the capacity to "threaten many lives" and cause significant damage to the gas pipeline.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, emphasizing that this gas pipeline was "essential gas infrastructure", indicated that he would convene the National Defense Council on Sunday afternoon.
Viktor Orban could cross “a new red line”
His rival, Peter Magyar, expressed his doubts about this incident on X. The Hungarian opposition leader suggested that this incident could be a "false flag" operation orchestrated with the aim of disrupting the elections next Sunday in his country.
“For weeks we have been receiving warnings from multiple sources that Orban – who reportedly benefits from help from Serbia and Russia – may be considering crossing a new red line,” he said. "Many people have suggested that an incident could happen 'accidentally' in Serbia, perhaps related to a gas pipeline, around Easter," he added, asking to be invited to the National Defense Council meeting.
To readHungary: Péter Magyar, the former disciple of Viktor Orban who became a surprise opponent
Balkan Stream, an extension of Turk Stream which passes under the Black Sea, is intended to transport Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary. Serbia is largely dependent on it since the vast majority of its gas comes from Russia, for a price much lower than the market price in Europe.
A candidate for membership in the European Union (EU), it is one of the rare countries on the continent not to have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and remains seen as an ally of the Kremlin.
Hungary also depends on Russian gas and oil imports. In recent weeks, Viktor Orban has accused kyiv of deliberately delaying repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, which passes through Ukraine. kyiv claims that the structure, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, was damaged by Russian strikes at the end of January. In retaliation, Viktor Orban decided to block a European loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine.
Also read “War or peace”: Orban brandishes Ukraine as a scarecrow before crucial elections
Hungarian opposition figures and European leaders accuse Viktor Orban of giving exaggerated importance to the oil pipeline affair to boost his campaign, while his party is not guaranteed to win according to the polls. Viktor Orban rejects these accusations.
With AFP
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