Kathmandu, Sept 2: The European Commission said the navigation system of the plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen was disrupted due to suspected Russian interference.

According to a commission spokesman, the GPS jammed when the commission chairman arrived in Bulgaria on Sunday, but his landing was safe.

“We have received information from Bulgarian officials that they suspect that this is due to direct Russian interference,” he said.

The Financial Times quoted unnamed officials as saying that Layen had used a paper map to land at Plovdiv airport.

The European Commission said that “threats are a regular part of Russia’s hostile actions” and that the incident strengthened its resolve to “strengthen our defense capabilities and support for Ukraine.”

The Bulgarian government confirmed that the plane’s GPS navigation system was jammed during the flight.

“To ensure the safety of the flight, air control services immediately provided an alternative landing route through ground navigation,” the statement added.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Financial Times the information was “false.”

Experts have previously warned that Russia is interfering with satellite navigation systems, affecting thousands of civilian flights.

Leyen was not visiting Bulgaria on a visit to Eastern European Union countries to discuss defense preparedness.