Brussels – Russia may be behind the electronic interference that forced the plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen to make an “old-school” landing by disabling its GPS upon arrival in Bulgaria. The authorities in Sofia suspect Moscow as the most likely party responsible for the incident.
It was an unexpected landing when Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, yesterday (31 August). Instead of on-board computers, the pilots of the charter flight on which the Commission President was traveling had to use paper maps after flying over the runways for about an hour, due to abnormal interference in the aircraft’s GPS signal.
As the EU Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podestà confirmed, the authorities in Sofia have opened an investigation and “suspect that the incident was due to blatant interference from Russia.” According to media reports from Bulgarian officials, the entire airport’s GPS went out of order.
For now, it is not known who is behind the operation, but if Moscow’s involvement were confirmed, it would amount to an actual direct attack on the number one of the twelve-star executive. “We are aware and somewhat accustomed to threats and intimidation, which is a regular component of Russia’s hostile behavior,” Podestà says.
Podestà added that the episode “further strengthens our unwavering commitment to enhance defense capabilities and support for Ukraine” in its resistance to Moscow’s aggression. Last week, a Russian bombing damaged the EU’s delegation office in Kyiv.
Her colleague, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who is responsible for transportation, explained that intense cyber interference activities have been ongoing in the eastern regions of the EU for some time. As a result, on June 13, chancelleries asked the Commission to take matters into its own hands, given the significant economic and logistical impacts. “We are working on an operational action plan for aviation,” she said, pointing out that Brussels has already imposed some sanctions against companies involved in this kind of activity.
Disturbances to GPS signals, crucial for navigation and transportation, are widespread in the Baltic Sea area, and suspicions fall primarily on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, situated between Lithuania and Poland. Bulgaria has noted a significant increase in such incidents since 2022, when the Kremlin launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking alongside the host, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, the head of the EU executive praised Sofia’s capabilities in ammunition production, as well as its continued support for Ukraine over the three-and-a-half years of war. She also emphasized the progress made in terms of continental armament, such as the full subscription to the EUR 150 billion SAFE fund for joint procurement.
Sopot, Bulgaria, VMZ ammunition factory.
Shells are produced here in large quantities.
Not only for Europe’s stockpile but also for Ukraine’s defence.
1/3 of the weapons delivered to Ukraine at the start of the war came from Bulgaria.
Thank you for your support to Ukraine’s…
pic.twitter.com/Fj9JbcpbPv.– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 31, 2025
Bulgaria was the fifth stop on von der Leyen’s mini-tour along the Union’s eastern border, during which she is traveling through seven member states to renew Brussels’ support for countries “on the frontline,” those exposed to Moscow’s hybrid warfare tactics. “We need to maintain a sense of urgency,” the president said, branding Vladimir Putin as a “predator” who “can only be kept in check through strong deterrence.“
Typically, the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare may involve disinformation campaigns, such as those the 27 member states expect to see in Moldova during elections at the end of September (following a script already staged last autumn, also in Georgia and Romania), or the instrumentalization of migration flows, seen on several occasions at the border between Belarus and Poland, visited yesterday by the Commission president before taking off for Bulgaria.
Today, von der Leyen travelled to Lithuania and Romania, the last stop on her tour. In recent days, she also visited Latvia, Finland, and Estonia. The intelligence of several countries believes that Russia may militarily attack NATO’s eastern flank by 2035.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
