Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of the EU nations bordering Russia.
BRUSSELS, Belgium — A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was hit by GPS jamming over Bulgaria in a suspected Russian operation, a spokesperson said Monday.
The plane landed safely in Plovdiv airport and von der Leyen will continue her planned tour of the European Union’s nations bordering Russia and Belarus, said the commission's spokesperson Arianna Podestà.
“We can indeed confirm that there was GPS jamming,” said Podestà. “We have received information from the Bulgarian authority that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia.”
Von der Leyen, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, is on a four-day tour of the EU nations bordering Russia and its ally Belarus.
“This incident actually underlines the urgency of the mission that the president is carrying out in the front-line member states," Podestà said.
She said that von der Leyen has seen "firsthand the everyday challenges of threats coming from Russia and its proxies.”
“And, of course, the EU will continue to invest into defense spending and in Europe’s readiness even more after this incident,” she said.
Bulgaria issued a statement saying that “the satellite signal used for the aircraft’s GPS navigation was disrupted. As the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal was lost.”
Von der Leyen was scheduled to address a news conference at 1430 GMT in Romania.
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A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon to over six years in prison for sexually assaulting a college student.
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who sexually assaulted a college student in the barracks in 2024 was sentenced to more than six years in prison Friday.
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon, 20, to six years and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one specification each of sexual assault, abusive sexual contact and as a principal to indecent recording.
Gordon was previously charged with additional crimes, but those were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Gordon is one of four soldiers who were charged in in connection to the sexual assault of a college student, who is now a commissioned Army officer, in October 2024.
When Gordon pleaded guilty, he said that he and another soldier followed the college student into a bedroom after she had been drinking with them. He said she was unstable walking into the room and when they went inside she was on the bed and not responsive.
Gordon said he and the other soldier each proceeded to have sex with her and they filmed each other sexually assaulting her on Snapchat.
As part of his sentencing, Gordon will be reduced in rank to E-1 and dishonorably discharged from the Army.
Gordon will serve the remainder of his sentencing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Once he is released, Gordon must register as a sex offender.
The three other soldiers who were charged in the incident are at different points in the legal process, and their cases are being treated separately.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Additional resources are available on the Washington State Department of Health's website.
KING 5’s Conner Board contributed to this report.
