The European Union is accusing the Russian government of deploying a GPS jammer against a plane carrying one of the international alliance’s highest-ranking officials.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was flying over Bulgaria on Monday when the aircraft’s GPS system was hit with an overwhelming radio wave, disrupting its use.
Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podestà confirmed the incident on Monday and said they had “received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”
“We are of course aware and used to the threats and intimidation that are a regular component of Russia’s hostile behavior,” a spokesperson added.
The plane managed to make a safe landing at Plovdiv Airport in central Bulgaria with everyone onboard unharmed.
Bulgaria, in its own statement regarding the incident, confirmed its belief that “the satellite signal transmitting information to the plane’s GPS navigation system was neutralized.”
“To ensure the flight’s safety, air control services immediately offered an alternative landing method using terrestrial navigation tools,” a Bulgarian government spokesperson said.
Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority has noted an increase in GPS jamming incidents since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Other incidents have involved “spoofing,” which occurs when a GPS system is remotely targeted and corrupted to display inaccurate location data.
Russian officials have sharply denied the claim that their nation was involved in the jamming of von der Leyen’s plane.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by the Financial Times about the incident, told a reporter, “Your information is incorrect.”
Von der Leyen is touring eastern EU member states, leading discussions on defensive readiness.
She is scheduled to make stops in multiple countries, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.