The charter plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Bulgaria on Sunday indeed encountered GPS signal interference during its landing at Plovdiv airport.
This was reported to journalists in Brussels during a briefing by European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà, in response to a request to comment on related media reports, Ukrinform’s correspondent reports.
“We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safe. We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia,” Arianna Podestà, deputy spokesperson of the Commission, said.
When asked whether the GPS signal interference had been specifically targeted at the plane carrying the European Commission President, the spokesperson replied that such a question should be addressed to Russia.
“We are well aware that threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia’s hostile actions. We are, of course, aware and used to somehow to the threats and intimidations that are a regular component of Russia’s hostile behavior. Of course, this will only reinforce even further our unshakable commitment to ramp up defense capabilities and support for Ukraine. This incident underlines the urgency of the President’s current trip to frontline Member States, where she has seen firsthand the everyday threats from Russia and its proxies,” Arianna Podestà noted. She added that on that day, the President of the European Commission witnessed firsthand the daily challenges and threats posed by Russia and its allies.
“And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she stressed.
European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen noted that the EU had long been dealing with GPS jamming and spoofing, particularly on its eastern flank. She added that in June of that year, 13 Member States had sent a letter to the European Commission highlighting that such incidents were becoming almost a daily occurrence, which was having a serious impact on maritime and aviation traffic and, inevitably, leading to economic consequences.
She added that the EU is developing a special action plan to counter such threats and is actively working with the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is also developing global measures to counter satellite signal jamming and spoofing.
As reported by Ukrinform, the FT wrote that Russian electronic interference forced the plane carrying the European Commission President to land in Plovdiv using paper maps.
These days, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is visiting EU Member States on the bloc’s eastern flank to strengthen solidarity and defense.
Photo: eumetsat.int
