The Kremlin has rejected allegations that Russia was behind a GPS malfunction which disrupted the landing of a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Bulgaria. The claims, published by the Financial Times, were dismissed by Moscow as false and unfounded.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper:
“Your information is incorrect.”
His statement came after the British outlet suggested, without providing evidence, that Russia might have been linked to the disruption.
Incident During Landing in Plovdiv
According to Financial Times, von der Leyen’s aircraft experienced a complete failure of its electronic navigation systems while preparing to land at the airport in Plovdiv on Sunday afternoon. GPS signals were reportedly unavailable throughout the entire airport zone, forcing the pilot to circle above the city for nearly an hour before manually landing the plane using paper maps.
The Bulgarian Air Traffic Authority confirmed the incident to the newspaper, stating that the GPS disruption affected von der Leyen’s flight. No passengers were harmed, and the landing was ultimately successful.
The disruption occurred shortly after von der Leyen reiterated that Europe had a “clear plan” for deploying troops to Ukraine to ensure security guarantees once a ceasefire is in place. The incident, therefore, has sparked heightened speculation amid tense geopolitical conditions, though no official investigation has yet identified a cause or perpetrator.
