Who did it? Just before Hungary's crucial election, the big showdown between the US, Russia, and Ukraine is back.

Ask AI · What political motives are hidden behind mutual accusations between the US, Russia, and Ukraine?

【By / Guanchazhe (Observer) Network 熊超然】On April 5 local time, just one week before Hungary’s parliamentary election, explosive materials were suddenly found near the “Turkish Stream” natural gas pipeline connecting Serbia and Hungary, tightening an already tense race. 

According to a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), later that evening, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seemingly hinted in response to the incident that Ukraine was involved in planning the sabotage. He posted a video on his social media platform Facebook saying, “For years, Ukraine has been working to cut off the connection between Europe and (Russia)’s natural gas supply.” 

Orbán said that Ukrainians had already blown up the “Nord Stream,” and are now obstructing Russia’s “friendship” (Druzhba) oil pipeline, which transits through Ukraine, from delivering oil to Hungary; the Russian portion of the pipeline within Russia is being continuously attacked by the Ukrainian armed forces, while the Hungarian portion of the “Turkish Stream” pipeline is precisely connected to that section. 

In the Facebook post, Orbán said he had ordered military protection for the Hungarian section of the “Turkish Stream” natural gas pipeline, emphasizing that this pipeline supplies 60% of Hungary’s nationwide natural gas demand. 

Bloomberg reported that, besides criticizing Ukraine for opposing other countries’ use of Russian energy, Orbán also suggested that the current Hormuz Strait crisis is making Kyiv’s position seem increasingly hostile. “The energy crisis coming toward Europe—its reach is unprecedented,” he said. “That is precisely why we will need energy from Russia even more.” 

This latest incident inevitably brings to mind the past explosion of the “Nord Stream” pipeline. As for the real mastermind behind the “Nord Stream incident,” all sides have their own accounts, and there are no shortage of major scoops from well-known media figures; and this time, not only did it affect Hungary’s domestic election situation, but both sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have also been accused of being involved. What’s more, a senior Serbian official revealed that the explosives discovered were “made in the United States.” 

Who exactly was behind this incident first remains to be answered; for the foreseeable future, all parties will likely have to keep “waging a major free-for-all” under the chaos… 

![](https://img-cdn.gateio.im/social/moments-7b1a38a191-789104fd2b-8b7abd-badf29) 	On March 7, 2026, Debrecen, Hungary: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán attends an election rally, calling for breaking Ukraine’s oil blockade targeting Hungary. IC Photo    

In addition to Orbán, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also linked this incident to other alleged attacks by Ukraine on Hungary’s energy supply. 

“First of all, Ukrainians planned an oil blockade,” he said in a video posted on social media: “Then, they tried to carry out a comprehensive oil blockade against us by dispatching drones to attack the ‘Friendship’ oil pipeline on Russian territory; and now, this incident involving the discovery of explosives has happened.” 

For the related allegations, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly denied and refuted them. 

“Ukraine has nothing to do with this,” Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insisted on the social media platform X: “This is very likely to be a Russian ‘false flag operation,’ intended to serve as part of Russia’s deep interference in Hungary’s elections.” 

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, multiple routes supplying natural gas from Russia to Europe have been disrupted; the “Turkish Stream” pipeline transiting through Turkey is currently one of the few remaining Russia-to-Europe gas supply lines. The pipeline runs through the Balkan region, transporting Russian natural gas to Central and Eastern Europe. 

Earlier on April 5 local time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić posted a video on social media saying, “This morning, our law enforcement officers discovered two large explosive packages with detonators at a distance of a few hundred meters from the pipeline.” 

He pointed out that if the explosives were detonated, the natural gas pipeline would be cut off, and Hungary and northern Serbia would then have no natural gas. He also emphasized that Serbia would severely punish anyone who believed they could threaten the country’s critical infrastructure. He did not reveal any possible motive for the attack, but said there are some “leads” that are not convenient to disclose at this time. 

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the head of Serbia’s military intelligence agency also said that the explosives found in the pipeline section connecting the “Turkish Stream” system were “made in the United States.” 

Sometime later, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted on Facebook that he had just spoken by phone with Vučić: “The Serbian side has discovered destructive explosive materials and the equipment needed to activate them at a key natural gas infrastructure connecting Serbia and Hungary, and the investigation is ongoing.” He added that in the afternoon, he had convened a special National Defense Committee meeting on the matter. 

Amid the energy cut-off crisis the world is facing due to the conflict in the Middle East, the “Turkish Stream” is even more important to Hungary and Serbia. 

![](https://img-cdn.gateio.im/social/moments-60b7556ce6-02a8ac0d9e-8b7abd-badf29) 	“Turkish Stream” natural gas pipeline Europe News Network infographic    

For Hungary, the “Turkish Stream” pipeline is its most important source of natural gas. Hungary has previously said that in 2024, Hungary received a record 7.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia via the “Turkish Stream.” Some scholars have analyzed that, relying on the “Turkish Stream” pipeline, Hungary could even become a natural gas distribution hub for Central and Eastern Europe. 

Agence France-Presse (AFP) said that Serbia is an EU candidate country and has long been heavily dependent on Russian natural gas. Data show that the country imports around 6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, at a price about half of the market price. 

Reuters mentioned that this incident occurred one week before Hungary’s key election on April 12. In that election, Orbán was working to maintain his more than 16-year hold on power, and his ruling party is trailing the opposition Tisza Party in opinion polls. 

The latest polling data currently show that Márzál, the 44-year-old leader of the Tisza Party, is leading Orbán by 9 percentage points. However, the polling organizations that highlight his advantage are often linked to the opposition or funded by the European Union. Many EU senior officials privately still predict that Orbán is “very likely” to be re-elected. 

Reports by dpa and Bloomberg also mentioned this key election. On April 5, Márzál posted that he accused Orbán of trying to manufacture panic during the campaign, and claimed that the explosives incident was a “false flag operation” planned by Orbán with the help of Serbia and Russia. 

“Multiple parties had issued warnings that during Easter, such incidents would ‘accidentally’ occur beside natural gas pipelines within Serbia. And now, as it turns out, all of it has indeed happened,” Márzál claimed. “I also call on Orbán (at least during the holidays) to stop the inciting acts intended to create panic and chaos, which are planned by Russian advisers.” 

The main Hungarian ethnic party in northern Serbia’s Vojvodina province—the Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina—whose chairman is Balint Pasztor—is another major key ally of Orbán. 

After the incident, Pasztor posted on X expressing support, saying: “If the final investigation proves that the main target of the (attack) was not us ourselves, but Hungary’s supply line, then it becomes even clearer that the purpose of this terrorist attack was to overthrow Orbán.” 

**This article is an exclusive piece by Guanchazhe (Observer) Network. Without authorization, it may not be reproduced.**