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A European Commission spokeswoman accused the Russian government of jamming the GPS systems of a plane carrying President Ursula von der Leyen while flying over Bulgaria on Monday.
European Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podestà confirmed that von der Leyen’s plane landed safely in Plovdiv airport. The European leader is currently on a tour of the European Union’s nations bordering Russia and Belarus.
“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” Podestà said. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”
“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states,” she added.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Russia hit her plane with a GPS jammer while flying over Bulgaria. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
“And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she said.
Von der Leyen and other European leaders have been skeptical of President Donald Trump’s efforts to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin toward peace in Ukraine. She visited the White House alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August, announcing at the time a new wave of sanctions against Moscow.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued attacks on Ukraine despite efforts to broker peace. (Sergei Ilyin/POOL/AFP/Getty Images)
The incident comes just days after White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian officials in New York City on Friday as they continue to push for a peace agreement.
Witkoff met with Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s office of the president and chief of staff, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador extraordinary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Western allies to impose further sanctions against Russia. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
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The meeting, according to Trump administration officials, was a status update and a reaffirmation of the goal of getting both Ukraine and Russia to meet to ultimately reach an agreement to end the war.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.