As reported by the Financial Times, citing sources, the plane of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was subjected to "suspicious Russian interference with the GPS." Officials suspect that electronic navigation aids were "jammed" during the approach to the Bulgarian airport Plovdiv on Sunday, causing the GPS to stop working. After circling over the airport for an hour, the pilot decided to land the plane manually using analog maps, they added.
Bulgaria's air traffic control confirmed the incident to the publication. "Since February 2022, there has been a noticeable increase in cases of jamming and spoofing of [GPS] signals," the statement said. "These interferences disrupt the accurate reception of [GPS] signals, leading to various operational issues for aircraft and ground systems."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told FT that "your information is incorrect."
GPS jamming and spoofing, which distort or impede access to the satellite navigation system, have traditionally been used by military and intelligence services to protect important facilities, but are increasingly being used by countries like Russia as a means of disrupting civilian life, the publication notes. EU governments have reported an increase in cases of GPS jamming and spoofing since February 2022, especially in Eastern European and Baltic countries.
Von der Leyen was flying from Warsaw to Bulgaria to meet with the country's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and visit an ammunition production plant. She was touring EU border countries to discuss efforts to enhance the bloc's defense readiness in response to Russia's war against Ukraine.
Bulgaria is one of the most important European suppliers of military equipment to Ukraine—initially outdated Soviet weaponry in the early months of the war, and now artillery and other products manufactured by the country's defense industry.