EU chief’s plane hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming over Bulgaria
The GPS jamming forced pilots to land using paper maps, with Brussels attributing the disruption to ‘blatant interference’ from Moscow
A plane carrying EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming as it readied to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, Brussels said on Monday, alleging Russia was thought to be behind the incident.
The European Commission said Bulgarian authorities suspected the disruption “was due to blatant interference” from Moscow, but it was not clear if the chartered flight was deliberately targeted.
“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podesta told a press conference in Brussels.
The aircraft landed safely at Plovdiv International Airport, in the south of the country, without having to change route.
Commission President von der Leyen, 66, a fierce critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was in Bulgaria as part of a seven-country tour of “frontline” European Union states which, sitting on the 27-nation bloc’s eastern flank, are more exposed to Russian hybrid threats.
The region has experienced “a lot of such jamming and spoofing activities”, the commission said, adding it has sanctioned several companies believed to be involved.
The Bulgarian government confirmed the incident.