By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A plane carrying President Ursula von der Leyen was targeted by GPS navigation jamming while trying to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, CNN quoted a spokesperson for the European Commission as saying.
The commission received “information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” the spokesperson said.
The plane landed safely, the spokesperson said. CNN quoted a source familiar with the situation as saying that the pilots landed the plane using paper maps.
“This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine,” the spokesperson added.
The trip to Bulgaria was part of von der Leyen’s tour of several European Union states that border Russia, Belarus and the Black Sea.
The trip was meant to show strength and unity as Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities and sabotaging any attempts to reach 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 trip on Monday, visiting Lithuania and Romania.
Speaking in Bulgaria’s capital shortly after the plane incident, von der Leyen said Europe needed to “keep up the sense of urgency.”
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has not changed, and he will not change. He is a predator. He can only be kept in check through strong deterrence,” she said.
