NATO Addresses Russian Disruptions in Civilian Airspace

Luxembourg, Sep 2 (AP) - NATO is actively addressing Russian interference aimed at disrupting civilian flights, according to the alliance's chief on Tuesday. This statement follows an incident where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's aircraft lost GPS navigation capabilities midair while traversing Bulgarian airspace.

The aircraft, fortunately, landed safely on Sunday, though Bulgarian authorities have pointed fingers at Russia as the suspected source of the interference.

"The situation is being treated with the utmost seriousness," stated NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during a press conference in Luxembourg alongside the country's prime minister and defense minister. "Rest assured, we are working tirelessly to counter and prevent such actions, ensuring they will not be repeated." Details beyond this assertion were not provided by Rutte.

While neither Russia nor von der Leyen has offered public comments on this incident, it's critical to note that the EU and NATO operate as separate entities, with distinct memberships. However, European security remains a crucial concern for both.

Rutte elaborated that this jamming incident is part of Russia's broader strategy of "hybrid threats," which include actions like severing undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, plotting to kill a German industrialist, and launching a cyberattack on the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

"The term 'hybrid' suggests something benign, but in reality, it involves serious threats like the jamming of commercial flights, which could have catastrophic consequences," Rutte explained.

The Associated Press has tracked nearly 80 incidents as part of a disruptive campaign across Europe attributed to Russia. Britain's foreign intelligence service head has characterized Russia's actions as "staggeringly reckless." Since the onset of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western officials accuse Russia and its proxies of a wide array of incidents, ranging from vandalism to arson and attempted assassination.

Russian interference involves jamming and spoofing, where jamming is the overwhelming of communications by a strong radio signal, and spoofing misguides receivers in terms of location or time.

"The Russian threat escalates daily. We should not be naive; it may one day affect Luxembourg or the Netherlands," Rutte warned. "Considering the latest Russian missile technologies, the distance now between Lithuania at the frontline and cities like Luxembourg, The Hague, or Madrid is a mere five to 10 minutes — the time it takes for a missile to reach these European destinations."

He emphasized, "The entire continent faces a 'direct threat from the Russians.' Regardless of whether you reside in London or Tallinn, we're all on the eastern flank now."

However, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov remarked that an investigation into the jamming of von der Leyen's aircraft would not be conducted because "such incidents occur daily" across Europe, a byproduct of Russia's ongoing conflict in Ukraine. (AP)

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