EU's Von der Leyen’s plane hit by suspected Russian GPS jamming over Bulgaria
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The news: A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, according to the European Commission.
The aircraft, chartered by the Commission, lost its GPS signal while approaching Plovdiv Airport on Sunday and landed safely using paper maps, according to The Financial Times, which first reported the incident.
The Commission said it received information from Bulgarian authorities who suspect “blatant interference by Russia.” It did not say whether von der Leyen’s aircraft was specifically targeted.
The context: The incident occurred during von der Leyen’s four-day tour of EU member states bordering Russia, Belarus or the Black Sea.
It comes amid a wider increase in GPS interference across Europe, particularly near Russia, with the EU linking the incident to ongoing hybrid threats from Russia.
Her tour was to bolster defence readiness and support for Ukraine.
The EU said the event would “reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine.”
The sources: The Financial Times , Reuters , The Associated Press
