A spokeswoman for the European Commission has accused the Russian government of interfering with the GPS systems of a plane transporting President Ursula von der Leyen as it flew over Bulgaria on Monday.
Arianna Podestà, the spokeswoman, confirmed that von der Leyen’s aircraft landed safely at Plovdiv airport. The European leader is currently on a tour visiting European Union nations that share borders with Russia and Belarus.
“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” Podestà stated. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”
“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,” she added.
“And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she said.
Von der Leyen and other European leaders have expressed skepticism regarding President Donald Trump’s efforts to collaborate with Russian President Vladimir Putin towards peace in Ukraine. She visited the White House in August alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announcing at the time against Moscow.
The incident occurred just days after White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian officials in New York City on Friday as they continue to advocate for a peace agreement.
Witkoff’s meeting included Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s office of the president and chief of staff, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador extraordinary.
The meeting, according to Trump administration officials, served as a status update and a reaffirmation of the goal of getting both Ukraine to meet to ultimately reach an agreement to end the war.