Germany says Russia ‘very likely’ responsible for Baltic GPS disruptions

Russia is “very likely” behind a series of disturbances affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German Defence Ministry said on Thursday (4 April), pointing to the Kaliningrad exclave as a source of the problem.

“The persistent disruptions to the global navigation satellite system are very likely of Russian origin and are based on disruptions in the electromagnetic spectrum, including those originating in the Kaliningrad Oblast,” a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters, confirming a report by news website t-online.

The spokesperson declined to give details on how Berlin made its assessment or the exact nature of the disruptions, citing “reasons of military security”.

Blogger Markus Johnson published a map of aircraft with jammed navigation on 15 and 16 March, claiming that at least 873 aircraft had their navigation jammed in that period.

Kaliningrad is sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It was cut off from Moscow when Lithuania became independent during the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Last month, a government source told Reuters that Russia was believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an aircraft used by British defence minister Grant Shapps when it flew close to Kaliningrad.

The aviation industry has voiced concern over a surge in GPS interference linked to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The jamming of GPS signals can be disruptive to commercial airliners but they can usually navigate by other means.

(With additional reporting by Georgi Gotev)

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