A plane carrying the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, was forced to circle above Bulgaria for an hour after losing satellite navigation signals in what authorities believe was the result of Russian interference.
The incident occurred on Sunday as von der Leyen was travelling by charter aircraft to the city of Plovdiv during a tour of EU member states on the bloc’s eastern frontier. Bulgarian officials suspect the disruption was caused by “blatant interference” from Russia, according to the commission’s deputy spokesperson, Arianna Podestà.
“We are aware and used to the threats and intimidations that are a regular component of Russia’s hostile behaviour,” Podestà said, when asked to comment on the episode. She added that questions over whether von der Leyen herself was deliberately targeted should be put to Moscow.
The Financial Times reported that von der Leyen’s flight was forced to rely on “analogue maps” before eventually landing safely at Plovdiv airport. The commission did not confirm that detail but acknowledged that electronic navigation aids had been lost.
Von der Leyen made no reference to the disruption during her subsequent engagement in Vilnius on Monday, where she warned of “constant military and hybrid threats” facing Lithuania. Citing the recent incursion of drones from Belarus, she said: “As Lithuania is being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested.”
Interference with global navigation satellite systems has become increasingly common in airspace bordering Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A sharp rise has been recorded over the past year. In January, Poland reported 2,732 cases of electronic interference, up from 1,908 in October 2023. Lithuania recorded 1,185 incidents in the same month, compared with 556 in March last year, according to an internal EU document.
That report concluded the disruptions were “not random incidents but a systemic, deliberate action by Russia and Belarus”, adding that causing disruption was “simple and cheap” and unlikely to stop without proportional countermeasures.
The European Commission on Monday announced sanctions against companies linked to GPS jamming and said it was preparing an aviation-specific plan, alongside wider strategies to counter the threat.
Von der Leyen’s disrupted journey drew comparisons with an incident in March 2024, when GPS signals affecting an RAF plane carrying the then UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, were jammed near Kaliningrad. The aircraft lost satellite navigation for about half an hour.
The latest disruption came as Ukrainian police accused Russia of involvement in the assassination of Andriy Parubiy, a former speaker of parliament and a prominent pro-western politician.
Parubiy was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday by a man disguised as a courier, who fired eight rounds at close range before fleeing. Police arrested a suspect within 36 hours. “We know this crime was not accidental. There is Russian involvement,” said Ivan Vyhivskyi, the national police chief.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the murder as “horrific”, saying it underscored the fragile security situation in a country still at war.
Efforts to secure a ceasefire remain stalled. Last month’s summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump yielded no progress, and a deadline set by the US president for Moscow to act or face new sanctions is due to expire this week. European leaders fear Trump may delay enforcement.
Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that Putin was attempting to “play” his US counterpart. Meanwhile, von der Leyen said Ukraine’s defence would rest first on its own armed forces, and second on support from a “coalition of the willing” of about 30 countries, underpinned by American backing.
Zelenskyy is expected to press the case for greater European support when he meets leaders in Paris on Thursday.
