The plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was targeted by GPS navigation jamming while attempting to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, a commission spokesperson told CNN.
The committee “received information from Bulgarian authorities that it suspected that this explicit interference had been carried out by Russia,” said Ariana Podesta, deputy chief spokesman for the European Commission.
The Kremlin denied the allegations. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Moscow’s allegations of involvement have been called “paranoia” by Europe at a press conference on Thursday.
The plane landed safely, a spokesman for the European Commission said. A source familiar with the situation told CNN that the pilot used a paper map to land the plane.
Von der Leyen and the committee were solid supporters of Ukraine as Kiev tried to protect himself from Russia’s unprovoked invasion. She is one of the European leaders who attended President Donald Trump’s summit in Ukraine, and has consistently urged EU member states to allocate more resources to support Ukraine.
The incident occurred as they were about to land at Plovdiv International Airport in southern Bulgaria. This is part of her tour that circumnavigated member states in the eastern part of the bloc to gather support for Ukraine.
“The incident underscores the urgency of the president’s travel to current frontline member states, and she has seen firsthand the daily threats from Russia and its proxies,” Podesta told CNN.
She later added that the flight was a charter and it is unclear whether the attacker intends to target it directly.
CNN contacted Bulgarian authorities for comment.
GPS interference, which causes disruptions in flights and maritime traffic, was one of the tools of Russian hybrid war weapons.
Authorities from Scandinavian and Baltic countries have repeatedly said that Russia regularly blocks GPS signals in the region. After a team of researchers from Poland and Germany studied GPS interference for six months starting in June 2024, they concluded that Russia was the perpetrator and that Moscow was using the ship’s shadow and its Kaliningrad exclusiveness.
The European Union previously authorized several Russian state-related entities and individuals for being behind obstruction cases.
“This will further strengthen our unwavering commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s defensive capabilities and support,” the spokesman added.
The trip to Bulgaria was part of a tour of von der Leyen in several European Union provinces bordering Russia, Belarus and the Black Sea.
The trip was intended to show strength and unity as Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities and hamper their attempts to reach a ceasefire deal.
The president visited Latvia and Finland on Friday, and Estonia on Saturday, Poland and Bulgaria on Sunday. She closed her trip to Lithuania and Romania on Monday.
Speaking in the Bulgaria capital shortly after the plane incident, von der Reyen said Europe “needs to maintain a sense of urgency.”
“[Russian President Vladimir]Putin has not changed, he hasn’t changed. He is a predator. He can only be checked by strong deterrence,” she said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
