"Flightradar24" posted data it monitored on social media platforms, stating that there were reports claiming that von der Leyen's plane was circling in the air for one hour, but "our data shows that the flight was planned to take 1 hour and 48 minutes, and the actual flight time was 1 hour and 57 minutes."

The website also added, "The aircraft's transponder consistently showed good GPS signal quality from takeoff to landing."

"Flightradar24" website's flight data Social media

Russian President's special representative Dmitriyev shared this post on the social media platform X and responded with a single sentence: "Facts speak louder than false statements."

The UK's Guardian reported on the 2nd that EU Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho still insisted that the GPS signal "disappeared" in the last few minutes before landing, forcing the plane to descend using other methods, hence "the flight time was much longer than originally planned."

"Russia Today" pointed out that the news of GPS interference was first reported by the UK's Financial Times. The newspaper cited sources who said that the plane experienced severe signal interruption, so pilots had to use paper maps to land. This source also claimed that Russia should be held responsible for the incident.

On the 1st, Bulgaria's Air Traffic Services Authority and the EU Commission confirmed that the plane's GPS signal was interfered with. EU Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta also stated at a press conference that they received information from Bulgaria, "they suspect it was Russian interference."

The EU used this as an excuse to strengthen its commitment to "firmly enhancing defense capabilities and supporting Ukraine," saying, "She (von der Leyen) witnessed the daily threats and challenges from Russia, and after this incident, the EU will continue to increase defense spending and further enhance Europe's defense preparedness."

Russia denied it. Russian President's press secretary Peskov directly told the Financial Times, "Your information is incorrect."

At the time of the incident, von der Leyen was flying from Warsaw, Poland to Bulgaria, preparing to meet with the Bulgarian Prime Minister and visit a munitions factory.

Von der Leyen's visit to Eastern European countries aimed to discuss increasing EU defense preparedness in response to the Ukraine conflict. She said at the end of last month that several European countries had finalized a "detailed roadmap" for deploying troops in Ukraine, expected to reach tens of thousands, led by Europe and supported by the US with intelligence and command support.

After ending her visit to Bulgaria, von der Leyen left Plovdiv on the same plane, with no abnormalities during the trip.

According to Politico Europe, published on the 1st, GPS interference and deception refers to the use of electronic interference to prevent aircraft from receiving signals from the American GPS or the European Galileo satellite navigation system, or to tamper with the positioning data they receive. These means have been increasingly used to interfere with civil or military operations in recent years. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, many European governments have repeatedly accused Russia of interfering with GPS signals in the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe, and have called on the EU to take action against Russia.

The New York Times also reported that GPS interference can directly affect the battlefield situation. Ukrainian commanders revealed that some US-made precision-guided weapons failed on the battlefield due to Russian interference, and drone flights were also severely affected. The newspaper stated that Russia's related destructive actions are intended to pressure Europe and the United States to reduce their support for Ukraine.

The Guardian also cited Italian defense officials, who said that in light of the incident of GPS interference on von der Leyen's private jet, Italy is considering new confidentiality measures for government and state official flights, including classifying them as confidential, reducing the information published on the Prime Minister's office website, and preventing professional tracking websites from displaying flight paths.

NATO Secretary General Rasmussen also subtly "fanned the flames" on the 2nd. He stated that NATO "takes this very seriously" and will increase its response in the areas of "hybrid warfare and cyber warfare." He gave examples such as the interference of civilian aircraft signals could lead to catastrophic consequences, and recently there were attempts to assassinate a major industrialist in a NATO member country and cyber attacks on the UK's national healthcare system.

Rasmussen claimed, "These are not cute little incidents, these are major events that can have great impacts." According to the report, Rasmussen will meet with von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Starmer, and German Chancellor Merkel in Paris on the 4th to discuss Ukraine's security issues with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Russia has always denied any interference behavior.

There are also politicians within Europe who do not support the EU's accusations against Russia. The leader of the French "Patriots" party, Florian Philippot, shared the "Flightradar24" post on social media, adding a caption that read, "Just like Nord Stream and everything else, the EU lied, Ursula (von der Leyen) lied. Flight radar has confirmed this. Beware of lies and false flag operations: the EU wants war!"

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545514198390833704/

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