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The navigation system of a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen appears to have been sabotaged by Russia while she was on a flight to Bulgaria, the European Commission has said.
It said the aircraft was affected by "GPS jamming" as the Commission president was about to arrive in southern Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government said “the satellite signal transmitting information to the plane's GPS navigation system was neutralised" while the plane was in flight.
The Commission said: "We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia." It’s reported that von der Leyen's plane had to land at Plovdiv Airport with the pilots using paper maps.
The European Commission said "threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia's hostile actions”. It said the incident reinforced its commitment to "ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine". The EU said it would deploy additional satellites into low Earth orbit with the aim of bolstering its ability to detect GPS interference.
Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority said there had been a "noticeable increase" in GPS incidents, including jamming, since February 2022 - when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin is reported to have denied any involvement in the incident.
Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by security correspondent Frank Gardner.
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2025/09/01
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