Russia ‘sabotages European leader’s plane in cyber attack’

Russia^[1] has been accused of sabotaging^[2] a European leader’s plane in an orchestrated cyber attack.

It’s believed that a Russian interference attack^[3] disabled the navigation services at an airport in Bulgaria, forcing the plane to land.

Three officials familiar with the matter told the Financial Times the attack lead to Ms Von der Leyen’s plane landing early at Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria.

According to the Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority, the plane was deprived of its navigational satellite connection.

Russia^[6] has previously used GPS “jamming” to disrupt access to satellite navigation systems.

It’s used in the military to protect sensitive locations.

One of the officials said: “The whole airport area GPS went dark.”

The pilot had to circle the airport for an hour before being forced to manually land the jet. They had to rely on analogue maps to navigate the landing.

“It was undeniable interference,” they added.

Both the Kremlin and European Commission have been approached for comment.

Last week, Keir Starmer^[7] lashed out at Vladimir Putin^[8] for “sabotaging hopes of peace” after a British Council building was stuck during a bombardment in Kyiv.

Harrowing footage shows the strike hitting the education and cultural organisation at Zhylyanska Street in the Ukrainian capital, part of a huge attack that killed 15^[9], including four children.

Russian sources celebrated the strike which hit the British Council, and alleged that a dozen people were in the building at the time. The PM condemned last night’s “senseless” attack on Kyiv and accused Putin of “killing children and civilians”. And French President Emmanuel Macron branded it “terror and barbarism”.

Mr Starmer wrote: “My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building. Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end.”

The bombardment also damaged the European Union^[10] delegation building. EU President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Russia must stop its indiscriminatory attacks on civilian infrastructure immediately and join negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”

This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News^[11] , Flipboard^[12] , Apple News^[13] , Twitter^[14] , Facebook^[15] or visit The Mirror^[16] homepage.