Bulgaria said Monday it will not open a formal investigation into suspected Russian electronic interference after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was affected by GPS jamming en route to Plovdiv on Sunday.
The aircraft landed safely after the disruption, Bulgarian officials said, but they added that such GPS interference has become so frequent that it does not meet the threshold for a criminal probe. The incident was the latest in a string of nearly 80 events tracked by The Associated Press and attributed by Western officials to Russian electronic operations since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Officials across the Nordic and Baltic regions have repeatedly warned this year that electronic interference linked to Russia is disrupting communications for aircraft, ships and drones. Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have reported increased incidents that, according to their assessments, have led to navigation failures occurring farther from Russia’s borders than in the past.
Russian authorities have characterized some jamming activity as defensive measures intended to protect key cities and military infrastructure from Ukrainian drone attacks. Western and Baltic officials, however, say the scope and frequency of the interference indicate a broader pattern that affects civilian navigation and safety.
The trend of electronic disruption has included several high-profile cases. In 2024, a plane carrying the British defense secretary experienced a satellite signal jam while flying near Russian territory, and a Finnish airline temporarily suspended flights after related interference, according to reporting that has tracked these events.
Experts monitoring the incidents have noted that GPS and satellite navigation systems are vulnerable to relatively unsophisticated jamming devices that can produce significant local disruptions. Such interference can affect civilian aviation by degrading navigation accuracy, complicating air traffic control, and triggering safety protocols that lead to delays or rerouting.
Bulgaria’s decision not to pursue a criminal inquiry reflects the challenge facing many European countries: distinguishing between isolated technical malfunctions and deliberate, state-linked electronic operations, and determining when disruptions warrant formal investigation or public attribution. Western governments have increasingly pointed to Russian responsibility for many of the incidents, while Moscow attributes some actions to defensive needs during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
As electronic interference incidents continue to be reported across Europe, aviation and defense officials are under pressure to improve detection, attribution and mitigation measures for GPS and satellite-signal jamming to maintain the safety and reliability of civilian and military navigation systems.