Orban accuses Ukraine of terrorist plot against pipeline amid uphill election battle

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is accusing the Ukrainian government of attempting to blow up a Russian gas pipeline, despite a lack of such findings from authorities.

Orban, who is facing an uphill battle to hold on to his office in this month’s parliamentary election, asserted that Kyiv attempted to sabotage a Serbian gas pipeline that transports fuel from Russia.

“Yesterday, [the Ukrainian government] wanted to blow up the gas pipeline,” Orban wrote on social media on Monday. “We are checking whether everything is in order on the Hungarian side.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European right-wing parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Authorities in Serbia on Sunday discovered two backpacks rigged with plastic explosives near the village of Velebit in the northern part of the country.

The undetonated explosives were reportedly discovered just a few