Gps interference, Russian shadows on von der Leyen's flight
The plane lands in Bulgaria using land-based means of navigation. Eastern countries have been reporting an increase in this phenomenon for some time, difficult to understand if the President of the Commission was targeted
from our correspondent Beda Romano
2' min read
2' min read
BRUSSELS - Confirming how hybrid attacks have now become the norm in many regions of the world, and in Eastern Europe in particular, the European Commission announced yesterday that the plane on which EU executive president Ursula von der Leyen was travelling on Sunday was the victim of interference to its GPS system. The incident occurred in Bulgaria, and did not prevent the aircraft from landing without difficulty. Local authorities suspect Russian responsibility.
"We can confirm that there was GPS interference," a spokeswoman for the president of the EU executive, Arianna Podestà, said yesterday, giving credence to an earlier article in the Financial Times. "The Bulgarian authorities have explained to us that they suspect that the affair is due to blatant Russian interference." From Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman denied any Russian involvement: 'Your information is not correct,' said Dmitry Peskov.
The charter flight carrying the President of the European Commission was heading to Bulgaria from Poland. "During the approach for landing at Plovdiv airport, the GPS signal disappeared," the Bulgarian government explained yesterday. "In order to ensure the safety of the flight, the air traffic control services immediately proposed an alternative approach so as to make a landing using ground-based means of navigation."
This took place during a long four-day trip that Mrs von der Leyen ended yesterday evening in Eastern Europe. In addition to Bulgaria, the European Commission President's tour included stops in Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Poland and Romania. The aim is to reiterate support for these countries bordering Russia and Belarus, three years after the outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Interference to GPS systems on aircraft and ships is now quite common in Eastern Europe. A number of countries in the region sent a joint letter to the International Telecommunication Union in June, reporting a 'significant growth' in interference to radio navigation. In this regard, the Estonian authorities recently reported that 85% of flights in the country suffered GPS signal interruptions, posing obvious risks to people and the economy.
