Russia’s Peskov dramatises alleged sabotage attempt on Serbian section of Balkan Stream pipeline

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described the discovery of explosives near the Serbian section of the Balkan Stream (TurkStream) gas pipeline as a “potentially very dangerous situation,” strongly suggesting – without presenting evidence – that the “Kyiv regime” was likely behind the alleged sabotage attempt.

Speaking at a regular briefing on 6 April, Peskov told reporters there was “no reliable evidence” of who was responsible for the incident but added that “with a high degree of probability it can be assumed that traces of the involvement of the Kyiv regime will be discovered this time as well.” He recalled previous alleged attacks by Ukraine on sections of both TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines and said Russia was taking necessary protective measures while hoping Serbia and Hungary would do the same.

The comments come just days after Serbian authorities announced they had foiled what President Aleksandar Vučić called a major sabotage plot. On 5 April, Serbian army and police units discovered two backpacks containing “two large packages of explosives with detonators” of “devastating power” in the northern municipality of Kanjiža, only a few hundred meters from the gas pipeline that carries Russian natural gas from Serbia into Hungary.

Explosives discovered near Serbia-Hungary gas pipeline spark sabotage fears and election controversy

Serbian officials described the find as an act that, had it succeeded, would have cut gas supplies to both northern Serbia and Hungary. Vučić immediately informed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who convened an emergency meeting of Hungary’s National Defence Council and placed the Hungarian section of the pipeline under military protection.

Hungarian elections loom large over the incident

The timing of the discovery – exactly one week before Hungary’s parliamentary elections on 12 April – has sharply politicized the event. Prime Minister Orbán, who has governed since 2010 and is seeking a fifth term, trails opposition leader Péter Magyar of the Tisza party in virtually all independent polls. Magyar is currently leading by roughly 20 points in some surveys, raising the real possibility that Orbán’s Fidesz–KDNP alliance could lose its parliamentary majority after 16 years in power.

Orbán and his government have framed the pipeline incident as a direct threat from Ukraine, using it to reinforce their longstanding campaign narrative that Kyiv endangers Hungary’s energy security and sovereignty. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called it a “prevented terrorist attack” on the TurkStream route.

Opposition figures, however, have accused the government of staging or exploiting the episode as a “false flag” operation. Péter Magyar stated publicly that he had received warnings weeks earlier that “something would ‘accidentally’ happen at the gas pipeline in Serbia” right before the election. He and other critics argue the incident is designed to stoke fear, distract voters, and portray any vote against Orbán as a vote for war and instability.

Serbian intelligence chief Đuro Jovanić has offered a different account, saying the explosives were U.S.-manufactured and that a foreign national linked to a group of migrants with military training was believed to be behind the plot. Belgrade has explicitly stated it has found no Ukrainian trace in the case.

Ukraine has categorically rejected any involvement. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Moscow’s accusations “baseless” and described the episode as a probable Russian-orchestrated provocation aimed at influencing Hungarian domestic politics.

The Balkan Stream is the European extension of Russia’s TurkStream pipeline, which delivers Russian natural gas across the Black Sea to Turkey and then onward through Serbia to Hungary and parts of Central Europe. Both Belgrade and Budapest rely heavily on this route for their energy supplies, making the infrastructure highly sensitive amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Caption: A handout photo made available by the Hungarian PM’s General Department of Communication shows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) greets soldiers as he inspects the military protection of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline at a gas supply station in Kiskundorozsma, Hungary, 6 April 2026. Hungary has stepped up the protection of the Hungarian section of the pipeline after the preparation of a sabotage act against the pipeline was discovered in Serbia the day before. EPA/ZOLTAN FISCHER/ HUNGARY PM COMMUNICATION OFFICE/HANDOUT