Russia blamed for GPS jamming of European Commission president’s plane during Bulgaria visit

An airplane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Bulgaria had its GPS jammed on Sunday, an act the authorities blamed on Russia.

The incident, which happened during Von der Leyen’s official tour of EU member states bordering Russia and Belarus, forced the plane to land in Plovdiv using paper maps.

It was first reported by the Financial Times and later confirmed by the European Commission.

“We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely. We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” a commission spokesperson said on Monday.

There was no change in the scheduled route, the spokesperson added.

“We are well aware that threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia’s hostile actions. This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.

Russia has denied responsibility for the incident.

Von der Leyen’s visit to Bulgaria was part of a tour aimed at expressing solidarity and promoting the EU’s €800 billion plan to ramp up defence spending.

“We have to keep up the sense of urgency,” Von der Leyen said in Bulgaria, speaking next to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. She added: “Putin has not changed, and he will not change. He is a predator. He can only be kept in check through strong deterrence.”

This is not the first time Russia has been accused of meddling with the GPS systems of eastern European countries. It follows the pattern of what has been described as hybrid warfare that includes sabotage incidents on underwater cables and the use of migration as a destabilising tool.