EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was allegedly subjected to a Russian GPS attack when she landed in Bulgaria over the weekend, claims the EU Commission. False! say the experts behind the Swedish site Flightradar24, which has extensive flight data.

It was on Sunday afternoon that Ursula von der Leyen flew from the Polish capital Warsaw to Plovdiv in Bulgaria. There, she visited, among other things, the Bulgarian weapons factory VMZ Sopot, which manufactures artillery shells.

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Keeping weapons production running is crucial for the proxy war against Russia that the Western powers are fighting in Ukraine. So, the visit to the country’s largest weapons factory is a natural element for the EU top official.

Russian GPS attack

But when von der Leyen’s private plane was about to land at the airport in Plovdiv, the GPS navigation system suddenly went out. The plane was forced to circle the airport for an hour before the pilot finally decided to land manually using a paper map.

“There was GPS interference, but the plane was still able to make a safe landing in Bulgaria,” a spokesman for the EU Commission told the Financial Times in a statement that continued:

“We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this was due to blatant Russian interference.”

“We are of course aware of and accustomed to threats and violations, which are common features of Russia’s hostile actions.”

At least, that is the EU’s version of Sunday’s flight. And it has given rise to discussions in NATO circles that Russia tried to kill von der Leyen, and that the EU should somehow retaliate.

Refuted by aviation experts

But this official conspiracy theory is now being questioned by the aviation experts behind the Swedish site Flightradar24.com. Flightradar24 has access to over 40,000 so-called ADS-B receivers worldwide, which collect real-time data from planes around the world.

In a post on the social media X, Flightradar24 writes that Ursula von der Leyen’s flight from Warsaw to Plovdiv took one hour and 57 minutes, only nine minutes longer than planned. This contradicts the information that the plane was forced to circle for an hour before landing.

Furthermore, it is pointed out that the GPS signal for the plane was strong from takeoff until landing.

Flightradar24 writes in a separate post that they have good insight into GPS disruptions in Europe and have a special map where they are documented. Extensive disruptions occur, especially along the border with Russia, but Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was not affected by them.

Flightradar24 has been described in British media as an “authority” in its field and has been hired to help investigate several high-profile plane crashes.