Russia accused of GPS jamming flight of EU leader von der Leyen over Bulgaria
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen鈥檚 plane landed safely at Plovdiv airport. President Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow鈥檚 war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of European Union nations bordering Russia and Belarus.
President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a joint press conference with Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda at the Border Guard School near Lithuanian-Belarusian border, east of Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 1, 2025.
Mindaugas Kulbis/AP
Sofia, Bulgaria
A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson said Monday.
The plane landed safely at Plovdiv airport in central Bulgaria and President von der Leyen will continue her planned tour of the European Union鈥檚 eastern front-line nations, said commission spokesperson Arianna Podest脿.
鈥淲e can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,鈥� said Ms. Podest脿. 鈥淲e have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.鈥�
The incident with President von der Leyen鈥檚 plane is the latest in a series involving suspected Russian electronic interference with GPS satellite navigation. For months, countries bordering Russia 鈥� including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia 鈥� have warned of increased electronic activity interfering with flights, ships, and drones. Russian authorities did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
President von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow鈥檚 war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of much of the EU鈥檚 eastern flank, with stops in Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.
鈥淭his incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,鈥� Ms. Podest脿 said.
She said that President von der Leyen has seen 鈥渇irsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies.鈥�
鈥淎nd, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe鈥檚 readiness even more after this incident,鈥� she said.
Bulgaria issued a statement saying that 鈥渢he satellite signal used for the aircraft鈥檚 GPS navigation was disrupted鈥� during President von der Leyen鈥檚 flight. She was traveling from Warsaw, Poland, to Plovdiv, Bulgaria鈥檚 second-largest city, on a private jet chartered by the European Commission. 鈥淎s the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal was lost,鈥� the statement said. It said that Bulgaria鈥檚 Civil Aviation Authority instructed the pilots to use backup navigation aids to land the plane.
The Associated Press has plotted almost 80 incidents on a map tracking a campaign of disruption across Europe blamed on Russia, which the head of Britain鈥檚 foreign intelligence service has described as staggeringly 鈥渞eckless.鈥� Since Moscow鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents, ranging from vandalism to arson and attempted assassination.
The interference from Russia includes jamming and spoofing. Jamming means a strong radio signal overwhelms communications, whereas spoofing misleads a receiver into thinking it is in a different location or in a past or future time period.
In August, Latvia鈥檚 Electronic Communications Office said it had identified at least three hot spots for jamming along borders with Russia. In April 2024, a Finnish airline temporarily suspended flights to the Estonian city of Tartu following jamming, while in March that year, a plane carrying the British defense secretary had its satellite signal jammed as it flew near Russian territory.
The office said that although Russia maintains the jamming is defensive, the frequency has increased as interference extends further from Russia鈥檚 borders.
Pilots and air traffic controllers from Sweden to Bulgaria are 鈥渁re reinventing the old-school methods of navigating because they cannot rely on GPS anymore,鈥� said Eric Schouten, an intelligence analyst and CEO of Dyami Security Intelligence based in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Sam McNeil reported from Brussels. Writers Emma Burrows in London and Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.