Karina Bovsunovska13:41, 01.09.25

During a visit to Bulgaria, the GPS in the entire area at Plovdiv Airport turned off.

A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suffered a GPS disruption on Sunday, with Russia now suspected of being behind it, Politico reports . 

“We can confirm that there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely,” Commission deputy spokeswoman Arianna Podesta said in a statement to Politico. 

It is known that Ursula von der Leyen is on a tour of the “border states” of Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania, seeking to emphasize her commitment to the European Union.

It is noted that she arrived in Bulgaria on Sunday, where she visited an arms manufacturer in Sopot together with the country’s Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. 

“The plane carrying von der Leyen to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, was unable to use electronic navigation aids due to obstacles, forcing the pilot to land using paper maps,” the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Podesta stressed that the Commission had received information from the Bulgarian authorities that “they suspect that this apparent interference was carried out by Russia.”

“This incident underlines the urgency of the President’s current trip to frontline Member States, where she has seen first-hand the daily threats from Russia and its allies,” the Commission’s deputy spokeswoman stressed.

At the same time, Politico explained that GPS jamming and spoofing prevent aircraft from accessing navigation systems such as the American GPS or the European Galileo. Such jamming can also distort aircraft location data and is increasingly being used as a means to disrupt civilian or military operations. 

Russian sabotage in Europe – latest news

BILD previously reported that  Russia has begun preparing sabotage in Germany. In particular, the threat of such actions is growing on the railways. It is noted that German security services are considering the possibility of such sabotage as arson, dangerous interference with the operation of trains or damage to equipment. 

At the same time, Bloomberg reported that Russia has problems with its saboteurs in Europe . A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank said that from January to May 2025, there were 11 incidents in Europe that were considered Russian hybrid attacks. However, for the whole of 2024, this figure exceeded 30 cases. 

(C)UNIAN 2025