Aircraft carrying top European Commission official faces GPS navigation jamming

A plane carrying 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," said European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podestà. 

The plane landed safely, the spokesperson said. A source familiar with the situation told CNN the pilots landed the plane using paper maps. 

Von Der Leyen and the commission have been staunch supporters of Ukraine as Kyiv tries to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked aggression. She was one of the European leaders who attended US President Donald Trump's summit on Ukraine last week and has consistently urged EU member states to allocate more resources to helping Ukraine. 

The incident occurred as the president was about to land at the Plovdiv International Airport in the south of Bulgaria, part of her tour around member states in the eastern part of the bloc to rally support for Ukraine. 

"This incident underlines the urgency of the President's current trip to frontline Member States, where she has seen firsthand the everyday threats from Russia and its proxies," Podestà told CNN. 

She later added the flight was a charter and that it was unclear whether the attackers intended to target it directly. 

CNN has reached out to the Bulgarian authorities for comment, and asked Russia to comment on the allegations. 

GPS interference that causes disruptions to flights and maritime traffic has long been among the tools in Russia's hybrid war arsenal. The European Union has previously sanctioned several Russian state-linked entities and individuals for being behind jamming incidents. 

"This will further reinforce our unshakable commitment to ramp up our defense capabilities and support for Ukraine," the spokesperson added.