The European Union’s attempt to portray Russia as responsible for alleged interference with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s airplane navigation systems has unraveled after Bulgarian authorities categorically denied any such attack. The incident, which occurred during von der Leyen’s August 31 trip to Bulgaria, has turned into yet another flashpoint in the EU’s ongoing narrative of Russian “hybrid warfare,” but this time the story appears to be built on shaky ground.

The controversy began when von der Leyen’s aircraft, carrying her and members of the European press, circled over Plovdiv for a brief period before landing. Initial reports from the Financial Times suggested the plane was “forced to circle for an hour,” allegedly due to problems with navigation systems. Soon after, unnamed EU officials were quoted by Sky News accusing Russia of “blatant interference,” an accusation that fit neatly into Brussels’ long-standing warnings about Moscow’s capacity to disrupt European infrastructure.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte added fuel to the claims, declaring that the episode highlighted the vulnerability of all European countries: “We are all on the eastern flank now, whether you live in London or Tallinn.” His statement seemed to transform the alleged technical glitch into a symbol of NATO’s confrontation with Russia, stretching the implications beyond Bulgaria and into the collective security debate of the Western alliance.

Yet, within days, the narrative began to crumble. On September 3, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov delivered a starkly different account to his country’s parliament. After examining the aircraft’s records and consulting with civil aviation authorities, he insisted there was no evidence to support the EU Commission’s claims.

“After checking the onboard records, we saw that the pilot did not express any concerns. The plane was in the holding area for about five........

© Blitz