Russia suspected of jamming GPS on EU chief’s plane; pilots reportedly use paper maps to land

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson says.

The plane landed safely in Plovdiv airport and von der Leyen will continue her planned tour of the European Union nations bordering Russia and Belarus, says the commission’s spokesperson Arianna Podestà.

“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” says Podestà. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”

Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of the EU nations bordering Russia and its ally Belarus.

“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,” Podestà says.

She says that von der Leyen has seen “firsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies.”

“And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she says.

The Bulgarian government confirms the incident.

“During the flight carrying European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Plovdiv, the satellite signal transmitting information to the plane’s GPS navigation system was neutralized,” a government statement says.

“To ensure the flight’s safety, air control services immediately offered an alternative landing method using terrestrial navigation tools,” it said.

The Financial Times newspaper, which first reported the incident, said the plane was forced to land using paper maps.