As the plane approached Plovdiv airport in Bulgaria on Sunday, August 31, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the approximately 15 people traveling with her, including her chief of staff, Björn Seibert, and Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius, were surprised at how long it took for their aircraft to land. The plane, which the Commission had chartered for the occasion, made two wide circles above the runway before finally touching down at 5:34 pm. Only after disembarking did the passengers learn the reason for the unusual maneuver.

"There was GPS jamming," Arianna Podesta, a European Union Commission spokesperson, said on Monday, September 1, confirming a report by the Financial Times. She added: "The Bulgarian authorities (…) suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia." "Who else could have done this?" said an EU source.

Since August 29, von der Leyen has been touring the seven EU member states that border Russia and Belarus (Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania) to reaffirm the 27 EU member states' commitments to strengthen their security and defense capabilities. On this trip, Podesta pointed out, "She has seen firsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies."

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