Germany's top commander says his plane targeted by Russian GPS jamming attacks

BERLIN

Germany's top military commander revealed on Monday that his aircraft was targeted by Russian GPS jamming attacks twice while flying over the Baltic Sea region in recent months.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Gen. Carsten Breuer said he didn't yet have details on the latest GPS jamming incident that reportedly targeted EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but noted that such incidents have become increasingly frequent.

"I have personally experienced this twice," he told reporters. "The first incident occurred while my plane was flying over the Baltic Sea as I was traveling northward. The second incident was during a visit to a military exercise in Lithuania, the Iran Wolf exercise,” he said.

Authorities confirmed on Monday that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's plane experienced GPS jamming on Sunday during her flight to Bulgaria.

“We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safely,” commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta told Anadolu. “We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” she said.