A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suffered GPS jamming as a result of suspected Russian interference, an EU spokesperson has confirmed to Sky News.
The attack disabled GPS navigation services at a Bulgarian airport and forced the aircraft to land using paper maps, the Financial Times reported.
The aircraft, which was flying to Plovdiv on Sunday afternoon, was deprived of electronic navigational aids as it approached the city’s airport, the newspaper said.
It circled the airport for an hour before the pilot decided to manually land the plane using paper maps.
Bulgaria issued a statement saying “the satellite signal used for the aircraft’s GPS navigation was disrupted”.
“As the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal was lost,” the statement added.
An EU spokesperson told Sky News on Monday: “We can confirm there was GPS jamming but the plane landed safe.
“We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia.
“We are well aware that threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia’s hostile actions.
“This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine.”
Read more from Sky News:
Who is messing with GPS signals – and why?
Ms Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine – is on a four-day tour of the European Union’s nations bordering Russia and its ally Belarus.
“This incident underlines the urgency of the president’s current trip to frontline member states, where she has seen first hand the every day threats from Russia and its proxies,” the spokesperson added.
“The EU will continue to invest in defence and in Europe’s readiness.”
Sky News has contacted the Kremlin for comment.
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Arianna Podesta, the European Commission’s spokesperson, said Ms Von der Leyen would continue her planned tour.
It includes visits to arms factories and border installations.
