EU chief's plane targeted by suspected Russian GPS jamming during Bulgaria visit

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was subjected to GPS signal jamming while attempting to land in Bulgaria on Sunday.

According to a CNN report, citing European Commission spokesperson, the commission received “information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia.”

“The plane landed safely,” added the spokesperson.

The pilots relied on paper maps to complete the landing, reported CNN, citing a source familiar with the incident.

President von der Leyen was in Bulgaria as part of a seven-country tour of “frontline” European Union countries located along the bloc’s eastern border, where countries are more vulnerable to Russian hybrid threats.

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Von der Leyen and the European Commission have been strong advocates for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression. She was among the European leaders who attended US President Donald Trump’s summit on Ukraine last week and has consistently called on EU member states to increase support for Kyiv.

The president visited Latvia and Finland on Friday, Estonia on Saturday, and Poland and Bulgaria on Sunday. She was rounding up the trip on Monday, visiting Lithuania and Romania.

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Speaking in Bulgaria’s capital shortly after the plane incident, but before it became public, von der Leyen said Europe needed to “keep up the sense of urgency.”

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has not changed, and he will not change. He is a predator. He can only be kept in check through strong deterrence,” CNN quoted her as saying.

The European Commission noted that the region has seen “a lot of such jamming and spoofing activities” and said it has imposed sanctions on several companies suspected of involvement.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government also confirmed the incident.

“During the flight carrying European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Plovdiv, the satellite signal transmitting information to the plane’s GPS navigation system was neutralised,” AFP quoted a government statement as saying.

“To ensure the flight’s safety, air control services immediately offered an alternative landing method using terrestrial navigation tools,” the statement added.

With inputs from agencies