Hungarian Army to Protect TurkStream Pipeline Up to Slovakia
Following the discovery of explosives in Serbia, Hungary will deploy its army to protect the TurkStream pipeline from the Serbian border to the Slovak border. Orbán convened the Security Council and called for cooperation with Slovakia and Serbia.
Explosives Near Pipeline Trigger Alarm
Serbian security forces discovered two backpacks containing explosives in the town of Kanjiža in Vojvodina on Saturday, April 5, 2026, just a few hundred meters from the TurkStream pipeline leading to Hungary. The town is located approximately ten kilometers from the Hungarian border. According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, it was an attempted sabotage of critical energy infrastructure.
The discovery immediately triggered a reaction in Budapest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán convened an emergency meeting of the Security Council and ordered the deployment of the army to protect the Hungarian section of the pipeline—from the border with Serbia to the border with Slovakia.
Szijjártó: Attack on Hungarian Sovereignty
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó described the incident as "an attempted serious attack on the sovereignty of Hungary." According to him, the amount of explosives found was sufficient to destroy the pipeline. Szijjártó also announced that Hungary, Russia, Turkey, and Serbia had agreed to strengthen the protection of TurkStream along its entire European route.
"Ukraine, together with Brussels as a partner, is implementing very tough measures to disrupt the supply of Russian gas and oil to Europe," Szijjártó declared.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attempted sabotage. Orbán called for restraint in making accusations until the investigation yields results, but also pointed to previous Ukrainian drone attacks on the pipeline on Russian territory.
Orbán Asks for Cooperation with Slovakia
The Hungarian Prime Minister emphasized the need for regional cooperation in the field of energy security. "Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia must agree on mutual assistance," Orbán stated. According to him, Hungary has "special obligations" towards both countries.
Orbán warned that a disruption of supplies via TurkStream would have catastrophic consequences: "If it is interrupted, the Hungarian economy will come to a standstill, and hundreds of thousands of families will lose gas." He also predicted an impending European energy crisis and called for the lifting of sanctions on Russian energy.
Key Pipeline for Slovakia
TurkStream has become a vital route for Slovakia after Ukraine ended the transit of Russian gas through its territory at the beginning of 2025. Currently, it is the only pipeline through which Russia directly supplies Central Europe. However, the southern route through Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary has limited capacity—it can cover approximately 46 percent of previous Russian supplies to Slovakia.
Any sabotage or disruption of this route would mean serious problems with natural gas supplies for Slovakia, especially in the winter, when the pipeline is operating at almost maximum capacity. The Slovak government is therefore closely monitoring the situation, with the security of TurkStream becoming a matter of national energy security for the entire region.
Security Dimension Deepens
The incident near Kanjiža is not isolated. The TurkStream pipeline has faced several drone attacks on Russian territory in the past, and security threats are gradually moving to the Balkan and Central European sections. The agreement of the four countries on joint infrastructure protection signals that the protection of energy routes is becoming a military-strategic priority throughout the region.
