By Lukas Reinhard

GENEVA, Switzerland: Recent fires and explosions at energy facilities in Hungary and Romania have reopened a deeply unsettling conversation about the fragility of critical infrastructure and the politics that surround it.

Whether these incidents are the result of accident, criminal sabotage or covert statecraft matters enormously, because they strike at the core of national security, economic stability and public trust.

They must therefore be investigated fully, publicly and without political spin. 

In Hungary, a blast at MOL’s Danube refinery in Százhalombatta was reported to have prompted an emergency response and temporary disruption to operations.

In Romania, reports have documented damage at the Lukoil Petrotel plant and other energy sites, leading to speculation about the cause and motive.

Authorities in both countries have so far stopped short of definitive public attributions, citing ongoing probes, but the near-simultaneity of incidents has naturally fuelled suspicion and geopolitical conjecture. 

These events arrive against the backdrop of far larger, still unresolved acts of sabotage: the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022.

That attack, which ruptured undersea gas lines supplying Russia to Germany, has spawned multiple investigations, competing narratives and a host of geopolitical accusations.

German and other European authorities have pursued leads, and in 2025 an Italian court approved the extradition of a Ukrainian national to Germany on suspicion of involvement in the blasts, a development that has not closed the case so much as added new layers of legal and political complexity. 

We should be clear about two things. First, there is a pattern: important energy nodes have been targeted in Europe in recent years, and attacks on supply lines or processing facilities can have outsized consequences for households, industries and diplomatic alignments. Second, pattern does not equal proof.

Extraordinary claims about who benefits politically must be backed by evidence; absent that, speculation can be weaponised as propaganda and escalate tensions unnecessarily. The responsible response is rigorous forensic inquiry combined with sober public communication. 

That said, the political environment makes scepticism inevitable. In Romania, the rise and subsequent sidelining of Călin Georgescu, a candidate who drew attention for his sceptical view of NATO and warm words on détente with Russia has been widely reported and debated.

Georgescu’s abrupt withdrawal from politics amid legal and political pressure fed a narrative of external and internal interference that is difficult to ignore, particularly for those who fear that geopolitical conformity is being enforced by blunt instruments, whether legal, financial or media-driven.

Journalistic accounts from AP and The Guardian document how the episode has become emblematic of broader anxieties about foreign influence and domestic agency. 

It is at this junction where violence against infrastructure intersects with high-stakes politics that democracies must demonstrate their strength. Independent, transparent investigations are not merely technical exercises; they are the democratic antidote to conspiracy.

If public institutions swiftly publish evidence, allow international observers and co-ordinate protective measures for vulnerable networks, people are far less likely to resort to inflammatory theories that erode civic trust.

Likewise, allegations of political interference in elections must be addressed by impartial prosecutors and overseen by international observers where necessary. 

Finally, European states should treat protection of critical infrastructure as a collective priority. Energy grids, pipelines and refineries are regional public goods; their security demands shared intelligence, mutual assistance and common standards for resilience.

At the same time, the EU and national governments must resist the temptation to politicise every accident into a geopolitical cudgel. Doing so only deepens division and weakens the alliances that keep the continent stable.

If the recent incidents in Hungary and Romania teach us anything, it is this: democracies earn their legitimacy by confronting hard questions openly and by strengthening institutions rather than scapegoating rivals.

The cost of failing to do so is paralysis, mistrust and, in the worst case, a slide into securitised politics that makes ordinary life harder for millions.

*Lukas Reinhard is a geopolitical observer based in the formerly neutral territory of Switzerland.*