Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were found near a pipeline that transports Russian gas to Hungary. The discovery in a border area of neighbouring Serbia comes as Orban's party trails in opinion polls ahead of crucial elections next Sunday.
Opposition leader Peter Magyar condemned the government's actions, accusing Orban of 'panic-mongering' and suggesting that Russian advisers may be orchestrating the narrative. This follows warnings from security experts about a possible 'false flag' operation that could implicate Ukraine.
Orban, who is closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has resisted EU calls to abandon Russian energy imports despite ongoing geopolitical tensions. Recent weeks have seen rising concerns among Hungarian security experts regarding a potential staged incident aimed at garnering public sympathy for Orban's Fidesz party, potentially to justify emergency measures around the elections.
Serbian President Alexander Vucic reported the discovery of two rucksacks filled with explosives at Tresnjevac, approximately 20 kilometers from the TurkStream pipeline crossing. The Serbian army confirmed the explosives found were of 'devastating power.'
Balint Pasztor, president of a Hungarian association in Vojvodina, remarked on the implications of the pipeline threat, insinuating that the intent behind the explosives might be to destabilize Orban's government.
Fidesz's political campaign has notably included anti-Ukraine rhetoric, with Orban asserting that the maintenance of low heating and fuel prices in Hungary is contingent upon continued Russian imports.
The Hungarian government maintains that the threat from the discovered explosives is real, dismissing any allegations of fabricated incidents as political maneuvering. As the investigation unfolds, the opposition continues to challenge Orban's narrative, positioning the upcoming election as a critical inflection point for Hungarian democracy.
