A airplane carrying the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was targeted by GPS navigation jamming whereas attempting to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, a spokesperson for the fee instructed NCS.
The fee obtained “information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” the spokesperson mentioned.
The airplane landed safely, the spokesperson mentioned. A supply acquainted with the scenario instructed NCS the pilots landed the airplane utilizing paper maps.
Von der Leyen and the fee have been staunch supporters of Ukraine as Kyiv tries to defend itself towards Russia’s unprovoked aggression. She was one of many European leaders who attended US President Donald Trump’s summit on Ukraine final week and has persistently urged EU member states to allocate extra assets to serving to Ukraine.
The incident occurred as she was touring member states within the japanese a part of the bloc to rally help for Ukraine. “This incident underlines the urgency of the President’s current trip to frontline Member States, where she has seen first hand the every day threats from Russia and its proxies,” the fee spokesperson instructed NCS.
NCS has reached out to the Bulgarian authorities for remark, and requested Russia to touch upon the allegations.
GPS interference that causes disruptions to flights and maritime visitors has lengthy been among the many instruments in Russia’s hybrid war arsenal.
Authorities in Scandinavian and Baltic states have mentioned repeatedly that Russia has been often jamming the GPS sign within the area. After a group of researchers in Poland and Germany intently studied GPS interferences for a interval of six months beginning June 2024, additionally they concluded Russia was the perpetrator, and that Moscow was utilizing a shadow fleet of ships and its Kaliningrad exclave to take action.
The European Union has beforehand sanctioned a number of Russian state-linked entities and people for being behind jamming incidents.
“This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defense capabilities and support for Ukraine,” the spokesperson added.
The journey to Bulgaria was a part of von der Leyen’s tour of a number of European Union states that border Russia, Belarus and the Black Sea.
The journey was meant to point out energy and unity as Russia continues to assault Ukrainian cities and sabotaging any makes an attempt to achieve a ceasefire deal.
The president visited Latvia and Finland on Friday, Estonia on Saturday, and Poland and Bulgaria on Sunday. She was rounding up the journey on Monday, visiting Lithuania and Romania.
Speaking in Bulgaria’s capital shortly after the airplane incident, however earlier than it grew to become public, von der Leyen mentioned Europe wanted to “keep up the sense of urgency.”
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has not changed, and he will not change. He is a predator. He can only be kept in check through strong deterrence,” she mentioned.