Hungary pipeline false-flag claims swirl as JD Vance makes election intervention | Hungary
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary has put the gas pipeline crossing the Serbian border under military guard as accusations of a false flag operation continue to mount ahead of tough elections over the weekend and a state visit by US vice president JD Vance on Tuesday.
Orbán traveled to Hungary’s southern border with Serbia on Monday, a day after Serbia said it had found “explosives of destructive power” near a pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond.
Development a few days before the difficult elections in which Orbán is involved behind in most pollsIt led to accusations from Hungary’s leading opposition candidate of a possible “false flag” operation aimed at influencing the vote.
Orbán has yet to respond to the allegations and instead sought to emphasize the seriousness of the allegations on Monday. “This pipeline is important, it is our lifeline,” he said in a video posted on social media. “We have conducted an investigation and I can tell the Hungarian public that the Hungarian defense forces have the capacity to put this pipeline under military protection and, if necessary, defend it.”
He and several government officials had previously tried to imply Ukraine’s involvement; This accusation was flatly denied by Kiev, which said it was most likely “a Russian diversionary operation as part of Moscow’s heavy interference in the Hungarian elections”.
Orbán, who has transformed Hungary into an “illiberal democracy” since coming to power in 2010, is also the EU’s most Moscow-friendly leader and has blocked aid packages for Ukraine.
The allegations are a glimpse into the tensions gripping the Central European country, where Orbán is trying to convince voters about the threat of war in Ukraine. Polls show that Orbán’s messaging, which also promoted his Fidesz party as the safest hand amid the volatility, has failed as he faces an unprecedented challenge from former senior Fidesz member Péter Magyar.
Magyar took to social media on Monday to describe Orbán’s remarks about the pipeline as “nothing more than the cheap theater of a fearful regime.” He added that it was just a funny coincidence that Orbán’s statements were followed by a poster saying “Comrades, it’s over.”
Speaking late on Sunday, Đuro Jovanić, director of Belgrade’s counterintelligence Military Security Agency (VBA), countered Fidesz’s claim that Ukraine was responsible for the incident, saying it was “not true”. He added that the markings on the explosives belonged to Americans, although they were not indicative of those who organized the plot.
While most countries have not commented on the incident, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday that it believed, without evidence, that Ukraine planted the explosives. “And before that, as we know, the Kiev regime was directly involved in such acts of sabotage against critical energy infrastructure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It is highly likely that there will be signs of the Kiev regime’s intervention this time too,” he added.
On Monday, after many journalists said they had heard rumors around Easter about a gas pipeline and something involving Serbia and Russia, Peter Buda, a former senior counterintelligence officer, said the potential plans were an open secret among many. “Plans for this false flag attack have been circulating since February,” he told the Guardian.
The uncertainty circulating in Hungary that Orbán could use the incident to prevent elections from being held as planned on April 12 – concerns also voiced by Magyar – comes as the US vice president and second lady arrive in Hungary for a two-day visit.
The visit sparked questions about why Vance and his wife, Usha, took the time to visit Budapest as the U.S. administration threatens to escalate its five-week war against Iran.
Since returning to power, Trump and his government have broken the principle of non-partisanship in foreign elections in western democracies (to which past US presidents also adhered). Instead, the Trump administration is openly supporting leaders it sees as aligned with Maga ideology and foreign policy priorities, regardless of their democratic credentials.
“Hungary is their El Dorado,” said Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest. “Vance has always been in love with Hungary for political and religious reasons.”
Respect extends to much of the current US administration. While Orbán has been praised by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon as “Trump before Trump,” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation think tank that produced Project 2025, a far-right plan for Trump’s second term, once said: “Modern Hungary is not only a model for conservative statecraft, but also the model.”
Although Trump has repeatedly supported Orbán, describing the right-wing populist leader as a “great man” and a “strong and powerful leader”, Heilbrunn saw Vance’s visit as a hint that Trump believed Orbán could lose the election. “Trump hates being associated with a loser, so he’s sending Vance out as a loser,” he said.
The visit, in which officials said Vance will hold a joint press conference with Orbán before the US vice president addresses a mass rally “on the occasion of the Hungarian-American Friendship Day”, underlines the symbolic consequences the election will have for far-right movements. In January, nearly a dozen right-wing leaders came together to support Orbán in a video.
Heilbrunn said that if Orbán loses the elections, it would be a “devastating blow” for the Maga movement. “They pinned almost everything on Hungary as the vanguard to erode and undermine the EU and strengthen Putin’s ability to threaten Ukraine.”
“We’re going to talk about all kinds of issues related to U.S.-Hungary relations,” Vance told the press as he left Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. “Obviously, I’m sure Europe, Ukraine and other things will feature pretty prominently.”
Vance is scheduled to meet with Orbán and give a speech about the “rich partnership between the United States and Hungary,” according to a statement from his office.
