Brussels / Plovdiv: A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen experienced GPS jamming while flying over Bulgarian airspace in what authorities suspect was a deliberate act of interference by Russia, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

The aircraft landed safely at Plovdiv Airport, and von der Leyen is continuing her planned four-day tour of European Union member states bordering Russia and Belarus.

“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” said Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”

The suspected incident occurred as von der Leyen travels through some of the EU's most geopolitically sensitive regions. A vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, von der Leyen has maintained a strong stance in support of Kyiv and against Russian aggression.

“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,” said Podestà.

She added that von der Leyen has seen “firsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies.”

The European Commission spokesperson also suggested that the incident would likely bolster support for increased defence investment across the bloc. “And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defence spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she said.

Bulgaria's authorities issued a separate statement confirming the interference, saying: “The satellite signal used for the aircraft’s GPS navigation was disrupted. As the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal was lost.”