A plane carrying the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was targeted by GPS navigation jamming while trying to land in Bulgaria on Sunday, a spokesperson for the commission told CNN.
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. A source familiar with the situation told CNN the pilots landed the plane using paper maps.
CNN has reached out to the Bulgarian authorities for comment.
“This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defense 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, but before it became public, 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.
This is a developing story and will be updated.