Two backpacks containing explosives were found near a pipeline in Serbia near the Hungarian border carrying Russian gas, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday.
Both Serbia and Hungary are stillheavily reliant on Russian energysupplies, putting them odds with other European countries seeking to reduce their reliance on Russian supplies.
The backpacks, containing "two large packages of explosives with detonators," were found in Kanjiza, in northern Serbia, "a few hundred meters from the gas pipeline," Vucic said.
Video and images in Serbian media show an extensive police presence in the area, along with roadblocks and helicopters above.
Vucic said he had informed Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban "of the initial results of the investigation by our military and police authorities into the threat to the critical gas infrastructure."
Orban, who is in the midst of a bitter election campaign ahead of a national vote next weekend, said onXthat he would convene an emergency defense council meeting later Sunday.
As to the origin of the explosives, Vucic said there were "certain traces" he could not discuss immediately.
He added that the explosives could have "endangered many lives" and caused significant damage to the pipeline. Serbian authorities are yet to give details on possible motives.
Close ties
Vucic and Orban both have strong relations with Moscow. Last month, Serbia secured a further three months of gas imports from Russia following talks between Vucic and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Orban has frequentlycomplainedthat Ukraine has blocked its oil supplies through a Russian pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory.
On Saturday, the Hungarian Prime Ministerposted a videowarning that a "severe energy crisis is approaching, accelerating day by day," because of the war in the Middle East, and demanded that the European Union suspend sanctions on the import of Russian energy.
Hungary has used its own exemption from the EU sanctions to deepen its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
After news of the explosive discovery of the explosives emerged, members of Orban's government began insinuating that Ukraine was responsible for the plot.
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In posts on social media, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó compared the discovery of the backpacks to the September 2022 attack onthe Nord Stream pipeline, which he accuses Ukraine of being behind, Kyiv has repeatedly denied any involvement.
In the attack, a series of underwater explosions triggered major leaks fron the natural gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.
The blasts ocurred in international waters and left the pipelines inoperable.
Following a lengthy investigation, German prosecutors issued arrest warrants for two Ukrainian nationals accusing them of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipes, both men have denied any involvement.
Ukraine, for its part, has denied any connection to the alleged explosives on the Serbian-Hungarian border, responding with its own conspiracy theory.
"We categorically reject attempts to falsely link Ukraine to the incident with explosives found near the Turkstream pipeline in Serbia," wrote Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, suggesting that the explosives may have been placed as part of a Russian "false-flag operation."
Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar echoed Tykhi's claims in a post on X, writing that if Orban attempts to campaign off the incident, "it will amount to an open admission that it was a pre-planned false-flag operation."
The accusations flying back and forth come amid Orban's longstanding disagreements with the European Union over relations with Russia, support for Ukraine and immigration.
He has also been an outspoken ally of US President Donald Trump and received vocal support from Trump administration officials.
In the last week of Hungary's election campaign, US Vice President JD Vance will visit Budapest to meet Orban. In February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said relations between Washington and Budapest had entered a "golden age" andtold Orbanat a news conference that "your success is our success."
Orban faces the biggest challenge to his rule in 16 years,according to analysts.
Two polls published last week showed Hungary's center-right Tisza party widening its lead over Orban's ruling Fidesz party ahead of the April 12 parliamentary election, although a large share of voters remained undecided.
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