A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was struck by radar jamming while flying over Bulgaria, in what officials suspect was a Russian operation. The incident occurred as von der Leyen traveled on a four-day tour of European Union nations bordering Russia and Belarus.
The aircraft was forced to divert and landed safely at Plovdiv Airport. Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà confirmed the disruption, stating: “We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming. We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”
Von der Leyen, one of Moscow’s most vocal critics, has repeatedly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and has led efforts to bolster sanctions and defense readiness across the EU. Podestà said the attempted interference highlights the importance of the Commission president’s mission to frontline EU states.
“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,” Podestà told reporters. She added that von der Leyen had witnessed “firsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies” and emphasized that the EU would expand investment in defense and readiness in response.
Bulgarian authorities confirmed the disruption in a statement, explaining: “The satellite signal used for the aircraft’s GPS navigation was disrupted. As the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal was lost.”
Despite the interference, officials said von der Leyen will continue her planned tour. The episode underscores growing concerns about Russia’s use of electronic warfare to undermine European security, particularly in countries along NATO’s eastern flank.
