A plane carrying European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen to Bulgaria was forced to resort to manual navigation techniques after GPS jamming that authorities have pinned on Russia.

The Financial Times first reported the jamming, and in the EC’s midday Monday press briefing Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podestà confirmed the chartered plane carrying von der Leyen was indeed unable to access GPS signals on Sunday as it approached the city of Plovdiv.

Podestà said Bulgarian authorities believe Russia conducted the jamming and, when asked if that assessment is accurate, said the EC accepts the theory.

Spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen chimed in, saying Europe is “seeing quite a lot of this”, especially on its Eastern flank – meaning nations nearest to Russia.

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