During a flight directed from Warsaw to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the plane that transported the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had to face an interruption of GPS navigation systems near the Bulgarian airport. The episode, which took place on Sunday afternoon, made it necessary to use paper maps to complete the landing. To report it is the Financial Timeswhich cites three officials aware of the accident, according to which it would be a case of deliberate interference, attributed to Russia.
The Financial Times remember that technologies of jamming And spoofing They were historically used by military services to protect sensitive installations, but that in recent years their use has also extended to civil areas, in particular in thesis geopolitical contexts. In Eastern Europe and in the Baltic Sea region, an increase in such interference was observed, with impacts on commercial flights, ships and civil users. Von der Leyen was on a mission in Bulgaria to meet Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and visit a ammunition factory. After the visit, he left Plovdiv aboard the same plane, without further problems.
Regarding the incident, the European Commission has received information from the Bulgarian authorities who attribute the episode to a possible Russian interference. The commission spokesman, Arianna Podestà, said: “We can confirm that a GPS signal has occurred, but the plane has landed safely. The Bulgarian authorities informed us that it was a clear interference by Russia”.
During a briefing with the press, Podestà added that situations of this type are part of a larger picture of hybrid threats already known by the Russian Federation, and underlined how the episode strengthens the commitment of the European Union to support Ukrainian and strengthen its defense skills. “The accident – he declared – highlights the importance of the president’s mission, which in these days is visiting seven Member States on the front line”.
With regard to the possibility that the plane was the direct objective of the interference, the spokesman specified that the plane in question was a charter flight and that any evaluation on the real intentions behind the episode is up to the competent authorities. “The Bulgarian authorities suspect that the interference is attributable to Russia – he explained – and have sent us this information. However, it is up to them and to any investigations to deepen the matter”. According to reports, despite the interference, the flight has regularly reached the destination expected without deviations.
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