A aircraft carrying the European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen was focused by GPS navigation jamming whereas attempting to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, a spokesperson for the fee instructed CNN.
The fee acquired “info from Bulgarian authorities that they think this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” the spokesperson stated.
The aircraft landed safely, the spokesperson stated. A supply acquainted with the state of affairs instructed CNN the pilots landed the aircraft utilizing paper maps.
Von der Leyen and the fee have been staunch supporters of Ukraine as Kyiv tries to defend itself towards Russia’s unprovoked aggression. She was one of many European leaders who attended US President Donald Trump’s summit on Ukraine final week and has constantly urged EU member states to allocate extra assets to serving to Ukraine.
The incident occurred as she was touring member states within the jap a part of the bloc to rally assist for Ukraine. “This incident underlines the urgency of the President’s present journey to frontline Member States, the place she has seen first hand the day by day threats from Russia and its proxies,” the fee spokesperson instructed CNN.
CNN has reached out to the Bulgarian authorities for remark, and requested Russia to touch upon the allegations.
GPS interference that causes disruptions to flights and maritime site visitors has lengthy been among the many instruments in Russia’s hybrid struggle arsenal.
Authorities in Scandinavian and Baltic states have stated repeatedly that Russia has been recurrently jamming the GPS sign within the area. After a staff of researchers in Poland and Germany intently studied GPS interferences for a interval of six months beginning June 2024, in addition they concluded Russia was the perpetrator, and that Moscow was utilizing a shadow fleet of ships and its Kaliningrad exclave to take action.
The European Union has beforehand sanctioned a number of Russian state-linked entities and people for being behind jamming incidents.
“This may additional reinforce our unshakable dedication to ramp up our protection capabilities and assist for Ukraine,” the spokesperson added.
The journey to Bulgaria was a part of von der Leyen’s tour of a number of European Union states that border Russia, Belarus and the Black Sea.
The journey was meant to indicate power and unity as Russia continues to assault Ukrainian cities and sabotaging any makes an attempt to achieve a ceasefire deal.
The president visited Latvia and Finland on Friday, Estonia on Saturday, and Poland and Bulgaria on Sunday. She was rounding up the journey on Monday, visiting Lithuania and Romania.
Talking in Bulgaria’s capital shortly after the aircraft incident, however earlier than it grew to become public, von der Leyen stated Europe wanted to “sustain the sense of urgency.”
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has not modified, and he is not going to change. He’s a predator. He can solely be saved in verify via sturdy deterrence,” she stated.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting.
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