The pilots of von der Leyen's plane had to land using paper maps, so to speak. The European Commission confirmed the incident."We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this was caused by obvious Russian interference. Of course, we are aware of the threats and intimidation that are a regular part of Russia's hostile behavior and we are used to them," the Guardian quoted one of the EC spokeswomen Arianna Podestà as saying.

Russians blinded. Ukrainians destroyed their radar in Crimea

Coincidence or intention?

It is unclear whether Moscow deliberately targeted von der Leyen."It would be best to ask the Russians about that," Podestà said. The European Commission has announced that it will impose sanctions on several companies that have technology capable of blocking navigation systems.

"It is really not entirely clear whether von der Leyen's plane was a specific target or whether it just happened to accidentally fall into the GPS signal jamming zone. When this system is blocked, as far as I know, such an incident can be described as something between an inconvenience and a real danger. Pilots have other navigational aids at their disposal. Nevertheless, interfering with the ability of aircraft to maneuver is a very dangerous game. I think we should take GPS jamming very seriously. We know that Russia is not very interested in the safety of civil aviation. We have the cases of flight MH17 or the Azerbaijani plane shot down on Christmas last year," Bart Schuurman, a professor at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University, told Pravda.

Russian intent cannot be ruled out in von der Leyen's case. The GPS jamming on her plane could perhaps be read as a warning from Moscow. In recent days, the head of the European Commission has been on a trip to almost all countries on the eastern wing of the EU that border Ukraine, Russia or Belarus, and has also headed to Bulgaria. However, she has skipped Slovakia and Hungary. Viktor Orbán's government regularly criticizes von der Leyen and refuses to support initiatives at the EU level that are intended to help Ukraine. The Slovak prime minister is currently in Beijing, where he met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

However, it is possible that the whole incident in Bulgaria was just a coincidence. But it is still part of Moscow's behavior. Russians, but also Belarusians far from their borders, routinely jam GPS signals. This has intensified significantly since February 2022, when Putin's regime launched a major invasion of Ukraine.

“In June, 13 EU member states warned of threats of interference and interference with navigation, which negatively affect air and maritime transport,” the Guardian recalled. Poland recorded 2,732 such cases in January 2025, and Lithuania 1,185. The newspaper also drew attention to the incident in March 2024, when the plane of the then British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps ran into navigation problems near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Hybrid war

In addition, such Russian steps can be seen as part of the hybrid war that Russia is waging with the West. Although Putin claimed at the meeting with Fico that his country has no ambition to invade anyone, he also declared the same about Ukraine at one time. In addition, Moscow is at least testing the security preparedness of European countries with various sabotages.

Schuurman is the author of the study Russian Sabotage Operations in Europe Since the Invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As he said in an interview with Pravda a few months ago, in 2022 he was able to find six incidents in Europe, in 2023 this increased to 13, and last year it escalated to 44.

So how should the EU respond to something like what happened to von der Leyen?

"I am not sure whether any specific countermeasures need to be taken. Rather, I think this is another signal that the EU should strengthen its own security and its ability to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Russia's actions show that it is a very dubious partner when it comes to reaching any peace agreement," Schuurman stressed.

Italian international relations expert Lorenzo Nannetti assumes that the union will not react directly, regardless of whether it was a coincidence or an intention.

"Theoretically, a strong response could be found. It would be possible to do something to Russia that could then be denied. We could, for example, use cyber attacks. But that would probably require NATO involvement, which I don't think is likely at the moment. And there is a risk that Russia would also respond with an attack. I think the political consensus will prevail to do nothing. That is the safest response. The key is that Russia is waging war against the West using all the tools at its disposal. Diplomatic, informational, military, economic, financial, intelligence and security. But the West is not waging war against Russia in the same way. It has set itself stronger limits - some of them are right, we are not like Moscow - but we are still not responding sufficiently. The best course of action would be to support Ukraine even more significantly and restore our combat capabilities," he explained. for Pravda Nannetti.