Kremlin says no Russian hand in von der Leyen aircraft GPS disruption
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (Photo: Getty Images)
Russia allegedly has nothing to do with the navigation failure of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane, states Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
What preceded this
Today, it became known that von der Leyen’s plane was forced to land in Bulgaria. The pilots lost navigation, reportedly due to interference from Russian systems that jam GPS.
According to media reports, recent months have seen a rise in GPS jamming incidents, with Russia being blamed. Such disruptions could trigger a major air disaster by effectively blinding commercial aircraft during flights.
What the Kremlin said
In response to a Financial Times inquiry containing allegations of Russia’s involvement in the incident, Peskov replied bluntly that their statement was incorrect.
At the same time, Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov argued that Russia’s denial of interference with the navigation of Ursula von der Leyen’s plane should not be trusted.
“Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, this type of GPS jamming of flights in certain regions near the conflict zone (Russia’s war against Ukraine – ed.) has been happening constantly,” he added.
European Commission comments on the incident
According to The Guardian, European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà confirmed that Ursula von der Leyen’s plane experienced GPS jamming.
“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the President is carrying out in the frontline member states,” Podestà stressed.
Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen described Putin as a predator who is already attacking Europe.
“Putin is a predator. Putin’s proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyber-attacks,” von der Leyen said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently met at the Poland-Belarus border to discuss protecting the EU’s eastern frontier.
