Brussels on Monday accused Russia of a “blatant” interference attack on Ursula von der Leyen’s plane, after GPS jamming forced the crew to land in Bulgaria using paper maps.
“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely in Bulgaria,” Arianna Podestà, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson, told reporters.
“We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this was due to blatant interference by Russia,” Podestà added, noting it is up to Sofia to investigate, as the incident occurred in its airspace.
In a statement, the Bulgarian government said that the GPS signal on von der Leyen’s chartered flight “disappeared” during the plane’s approach to Plovdiv airport.
“To ensure the safety of the flight, air traffic services immediately proposed an alternative landing approach using ground-based navigation aids,” Sofia added.
“The ground-based navigation aids used in Bulgaria are independent of GPS systems and allow safe and reliable landings.”
Asked whether von der Leyen herself had been the target, Podestà said the question should be put to the Russians.
Earlier on Monday, the Financial Times reported that a Russian interference attack forced the Commission president’s plane to land at Plovdiv, Bulgaria, using paper maps.
The incident comes just a week after Russian missile strikes caused severe damage to the EU delegation in Kyiv.
Moscow has also escalated its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, defying Western calls for a ceasefire and a US-led push to reach a diplomatic settlement to the conflict.
Since the attack, von der Leyen, who is now on the last day of a four-day visit to “frontline” EU countries, has labelled Vladimir Putin a “predator” and condemned the Russian leader’s “proxies” for launching cyber and hybrid attacks across the bloc.
UPDATE: The story has been updated with a statement from Bulgaria’s government.
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