EU's von der Leyen plane hit by suspected Russian GPS interference

The EU has accused Russia of jamming the GPS signal on an aircraft carrying the European commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday.

The incident which took place as enroute a visit to Bulgaria, forced the plane to land at the city of Plovdiv using paper maps as opposed to the conventional electronic system. 

Von der Leyen paid a visit to Bulgaria as part of her tour to member states aimed at expressing solidarity and promoting the EU’  800bn plan to ramp up defence spending. 

"We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely. We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia," a Commission spokesperson said on Monday.

"We are well aware that threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia's hostile actions. This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine."

There was no change in the scheduled route, the spokesperson noted.

Russia has previously been accused of provocation against NATO countries by a Polish Minister after a drone exploded in a cornfield in the Eastern part of the country in August. 

However, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday, Putin accused NATO of destabilising the region and dismissed claims that Russia triggered the war.

“This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,” he said. 

"We have to keep up the sense of urgency," von der Leyen said in Bulgaria, speaking next to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

"Putin has not changed, and he will not change. He is a predator. He can only be kept in check through strong deterrence."

A spokesperson for Russia is yet to respond to the accusations.

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