Von der Leyen’s flight has navigation services disabled, pilot has to rely on paper maps

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year. Photo / Nicolas Tucat, AFP

Ursula von der Leyen’s plane has been targeted by suspected Russian interference, forcing her pilot to land using paper maps.

A jet carrying the European Commission President to Plovdiv, in Bulgaria, yesterday had its GPS navigation services disabled, a spokesman for the commission told the Telegraph.

The plane was forced to circle the airport for an hour before the pilot landed using analogue maps in what officials said was “undeniable interference”.

The spokesman said: “We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely. 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.”

The official said the suspected sabotage underlined the European Union’s commitment to ramping up its defences.

Bulgaria has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion in 2022, having supplied weaponry and artillery.

GPS jamming prevents pilots from being able to access a plane’s satellite-based navigation system.

It has been increasingly used by Moscow to disrupt civilian life, with EU countries warning that it could cause a major air disaster.

Since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, jamming incidents have become more common in the Baltic Sea and eastern European states, located near Russia.

In July, Lithuania said it had located more than 10 locations in the Russian enclave of Kalininigrad, “from where Russia is causing this interference”.

Pilots in the country reported disruptions to their GPS communications on more than 1000 occasions in June – a jump from 46 times in the previous month. Estonia and Finland also criticised Moscow for alleged jamming incidents last year.

GPS uses a network of satellites and receiving devices for positioning and navigation, replacing ground devices that would previously transmit radio beams towards planes as they landed.

Jamming involves overwhelming GPS receivers with signals to render the receiver unusable, making it difficult or impossible for pilots to know their location.

It can also prevent them from communicating with air traffic control. It can be carried out by relatively cheap, accessible frequency transmitting devices.

Von der Leyen was making her way from Poland to Bulgaria as part of a seven-country tour of the EU’s front-line states to pledge the bloc’s support in the face of Russian aggression.

She described Putin as a “predator” during a trip to the Poland-Belarus border yesterday, adding: “We have to keep the sense of urgency because we know that Putin has not changed and will not change”.

In addition to Poland and Bulgaria, she will also visit Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia – which share a border with Russia – as well as Romania.

It is her most significant diplomatic push on EU security and defence since the immediate period after Putin’s invasion.

The jamming incident comes just days after a Russian missile struck the offices of the British Council and the EU’s delegation to Ukraine in Kyiv.

Britain and the EU accused the Kremlin of deliberately targeting their buildings in the aerial barrage, both summoning their local Russian ambassadors for a dressing down.

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