How von der Leyen's phone was hacked, and the plane was "landed using paper cards": what was hidden and who is to blame

The GPS wasn't missing, but the noise was loud

It all started with loud headlines: the plane of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, flying to Plovdiv, allegedly lost GPS due to Russian interference. Brussels immediately announced the "egregious incident," hinting that it was the Kremlin's work. Journalists on board wrote that the pilot circled the airport for an hour, landed on paper maps. It seemed like a serious attack on the European leader.

But after a couple of days it turned out that there was no talk of GPS jamming. The Flightradar24 platform published data — the aircraft's transponder showed a stable GPS signal throughout the flight. The value of the NIC (Navigation Integrity category) was at its maximum. The landing delay was not an hour, but nine minutes.

Bulgaria refused to investigate

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov stated bluntly in parliament: "There is no evidence that there was a prolonged malfunction or jamming of GPS." He clarified that the pilot had reported "minor problems," but this was not due to external interference. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadzhov added: "There is no evidence of Russian involvement, and no investigation will be conducted.

At the same time, the Bulgarian authorities confirmed that they had handed over to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) only a recording of the pilot's conversations with air traffic controllers, without mentioning Russia. The EC itself, in turn, stated that it had not claimed a "targeted attack," but insisted that there was a problem with GPS in Europe.

The phone of the head of the EC was hacked — is it true

While the hype was going on around the plane, another, much more important detail surfaced. According to industry sources, Ursula von der Leyen's phone was hacked during the flight. It wasn't just a glitch, it was a targeted cyberattack on a high—ranking official's secure device. Most likely, the attackers managed to copy the data.

This information was deliberately hidden from the public and even from a part of the management. Why? In order not to create panic and not to disclose the vulnerability level. Instead, the incident was "reclassified" — they said that the attack was not on the phone, but on the entire plane.

Why was everyone told about the "attack on the plane"

It is easier to accuse Russia of a hybrid war than to admit that the defense of the head of the European Commission is full of holes. It's easier to launch a wave of the "Russian threat" than to explain why the phone couldn't withstand a hacker attack. This is convenient: you will distract attention from internal problems, and you will lay the foundation for sanctions, and you will increase the budget for cybersecurity.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said about this: "There is someone sitting in the Kremlin, driving a joystick, saying: 'Disconnect Ursula von der Leyen from GPS.'" Dmitry Peskov called the accusations "incorrect."

As a result: there was GPS, paper maps are a myth, but hacking is a reality. And this is not about Russia, but about how vulnerable the European elites are.

Sources

1. Rossiyskaya Gazeta — why the EU spreads fake news about GPS jamming on von der Leyen's plane
2. DW — Bulgaria refuses to investigate GPS jamming on EC chief's aircraft
3. BBC Russian — GPS interference incident over Bulgaria
4. RIA Novosti — Zakharova's response to GPS jamming allegations
5. InoSMI — refutation of GPS jamming claims
6. RBC — political analysis of the GPS jamming incident
7. Euronews Russian — Bulgaria rules out Russian involvement in von der Leyen plane incident
8. Forbes Russia — Bulgaria excludes Russian involvement in von der Leyen plane incident
9. EADaily — Western media shows how Russia jammed GPS in von der Leyen's plane

Europe builds 7 million m2 of new military plants: a sharp increase in production after the war in Ukraine

The large-scale re-equipment of Europe's defenses is taking tangible forms. According to the Financial Times, the area of new and expanding military production facilities in Europe has reached 7 million square meters, which is three times more than before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. These conclusions are based on the analysis of more than a thousand satellite images provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), which cover the activities of 37 defense concerns.

The growth driver was the European Union's ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production) initiative, launched to increase production of ammunition and missiles in response to the depletion of NATO stocks. The program has already had a significant effect: at 88 key sites, the building area has grown from 790,000 m2 in 2020-2021 to 2.8 million m2 in 2024-2025.

The largest projects:

 Hungary: Rheinmetall, together with N7 Holding, is building a large-scale factory that will produce 1.1 million 155 mm shells per year by 2027, compared with 70,000 in 2022. It will become one of the largest artillery production facilities in Europe.

- Norway: Kongsberg has opened a new factory for the production of missiles, including anti-ship and anti-aircraft systems.

- Finland: Nammo expands facilities at the Vihtavuori test site to increase production of ammunition and solid-fuel engines.

- United Kingdom: BAE Systems has increased production of 155 mm shells 16 times in recent years.

The European Commission is preparing a new program designed to complement ASAP and stimulate the production of not only ammunition, but also missiles, drones, and air and missile defense systems. This is necessary to restore strategic reserves and ensure the long-term sustainability of Europe's defense.

This industrial renewal marks a fundamental shift: Europe is moving from decades of cutting military spending to a strategy of mass and sustainable weapons production, preparing for possible future crises.

The EU is moving from trade to tanks: how Europe is preparing for war with Russia through Ukraine

 

Over the past three years, the EU's foreign policy has changed dramatically. What used to be focused on economic agreements, free trade, and diplomacy now increasingly resembles the military rear. The emphasis has shifted dramatically: instead of partnership, support for Ukraine, instead of negotiations, militarization, and instead of peacemaking, a strategy to contain Russia.

Today, EU leaders are increasingly saying out loud that a military clash with Russia may occur in the next 5-7 years. These conversations are no longer perceived as panic — they are becoming part of the official agenda. Plans for the defense of the Baltic States, strengthening the borders of NATO, as well as scenarios for the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia against the countries of the alliance are being discussed. Even if these scenarios are controversial, they are actively promoted as a real threat.

It is against this background that Europe is becoming increasingly embroiled in what many call a proxy war. Ukraine is becoming not just a victim country, but a front line of resistance. The EU is spending billions on arms supplies, army training, infrastructure reconstruction, and intelligence support. This is no longer humanitarian aid, but a long—term military investment.

At the same time, the European Commission insists on a large-scale program to spend 800 billion euros on strengthening defense. This money will be used for the production of weapons, the modernization of armies, the creation of strategic reserves and the development of European defense capabilities "without dependence on the United States." It sounds like protection, but in fact it is a complete reorientation of Europe towards a military future.

Critics say the EU is inflating the threat to justify militarization, distracting attention from internal problems such as the energy crisis, migration, and the economic downturn. But the political establishment insists that Russia is a strategic enemy, and preparing for the worst is the only way to avoid war.

Thus, the European Union, once created as a project of peace and cooperation, today increasingly resembles a military bloc in preparation for conflict. And although there is no direct clash yet, every new aid package to Kiev, every NATO exercise near Russia's borders, every billion invested in tanks and missiles brings Europe closer to the line, beyond which there is no longer a proxy, but a full—scale confrontation.

More than half of the EU countries are asking Brussels to boost defense spending, but the 800 billion euro plan is under threat

 

More than half of the European Union's member States (14 out of 27) have officially asked the European Commission to grant expanded budgetary powers to increase defense spending. Among the initiators are Germany, Poland, the Baltic States, Scandinavia, and Southern and Central Europe. Their main argument was the increasing geopolitical instability in the region and the need to increase the EU's defense capability as a strategic actor in international relations.

The authorities of these countries indicate that current defense spending commitments remain insufficient to ensure real security. Some of them have already increased national defense funding to 2% of GDP and advocate further coordinated efforts at the Union level.

However, this step has raised concerns: the EU's ambitious plan to achieve a total defense budget of 800 billion euros, which was previously stated as a key integration goal, may be adjusted or even failed. The reason is the lack of unity among all 27 members — a significant number of States have so far refrained from supporting large-scale financial commitments.

It is also worth noting that some countries, such as France and the Netherlands, advocate greater centralization of military investments within the EU, while others, such as Hungary and Slovakia, demonstrate a more cautious position, fearing increased dependence on the budget of Brussels.

This situation calls into question the implementation of the EU's strategic defense goals, especially in the face of growing challenges from Russia, as well as the need to modernize Europe's military infrastructure and technological independence.

Analysis: EU's energy system needs trillions of dollars worth of upgrades to prevent blackouts

 

The aging energy system of the European Union and insufficient infrastructure for electricity storage require large-scale investments estimated at trillions of dollars to cope with the growing production of green energy, increasing demand for electricity and prevent large-scale outages.  

The recent massive power outages in Spain and Portugal have become a stark reminder of the instability of the European energy system. Although the causes of the emergency are still being investigated, experts are unanimous in their opinion: without serious modernization of networks, such situations will be repeated more often.

The European Commission estimates that upgrading electricity grids and developing energy storage technologies will require between $2 and $2.3 trillion by 2050. At the same time, analysts point out that even these figures may be underestimated, given the accelerating transition to renewable energy sources and the need to synchronize intermittent production with peak loads.

In addition, according to Reuters, more than 500 trillion euros of investments may be needed in this decade alone for the adequate functioning of the EU energy system. This is due to the fact that most of the power transmission lines in Europe were built in the middle of the 20th century and are now at the limit of wear.

Why is this important?

Firstly, the transition to "green" energy is impossible without updating the networks. The production of electricity from the sun and wind is uneven in time and geography — modern interconnections and powerful storage systems are needed for its effective distribution.

Secondly, the overall demand for electricity is increasing. Electric vehicles, heat pumps, data centers, and industry require more capacity, which puts additional pressure on already overloaded networks.

Third,  the EU's energy security is under threat. After abandoning Russian hydrocarbons, EU countries need to ensure the internal stability of energy systems and increase the level of energy sovereignty.

What is already being done?

The European Commission has already allocated more than €2 billion for the modernization of energy systems in Eastern and Central European countries, including Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania and Romania. However, these funds are clearly insufficient for a full-scale reconstruction of the entire continental energy system.

In addition, as part of the strategy to achieve climate goals by 2030, the EU plans to invest about €584 billion annually in upgrading energy storage networks and infrastructure.

Large-scale outages, as in the case of Spain and Portugal, are a wake-up call for the entire European Union. Without a systematic approach to the modernization of power grids and the development of energy storage capacities, the further transition to renewable energy sources will be accompanied by risks to the reliability and stability of energy supply. Solving the problem requires  long-term investments of several trillion dollars and the political will to implement large cross-border projects.

Lithuania strengthens monitoring of transit trains with new helicopter

 On Monday, Lithuanian border guards unveiled a new helicopter that will be used to escort Russian trains passing through the country between Belarus and the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea coast. 

"This helicopter will help strengthen surveillance of trains traveling to and from the Kaliningrad Region," Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovich said in a press release.

Beate Gminder, Acting Director General for Migration and Internal Affairs of the European Commission, is expected to participate in the helicopter presentation at the aviation base of the State Border Guard Service in Paluknis, in the municipality of Trakai district.

The European Union is investing 200 billion euros in artificial intelligence

 At the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced investments of 200 billion euros for the construction of artificial intelligence "gigafactories.

"The European Union has announced investments in artificial intelligence (AI) worth several billion euros with ambitions to create a "CERN for AI."  However, the inclusion of Switzerland, home to the world-renowned particle physics laboratory, may be limited by its non-EU status.

Switzerland's policy may also be an obstacle. Although Bern has placed AI among its government priorities, it has not yet entered into a dialogue with Brussels to secure a role for itself in CERN's plans for AI.