The last time a US-registered flight came directly from Europe to Russia was in January
Highlights
- A US Air Force Boeing Globemaster landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Tuesday
- The Kremlin stated it had no information about the US military aircraft's arrival
- The flight originated from Riga in Latvia and had left the US Camp Springs airbase near Washington DC
A US Air Force transport plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Tuesday, according to data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24. However, the Kremlin said that it had no information about the aircraft.
The aircraft, which was a Boeing Globemaster, had a US-registered tail number and had flown to Moscow from Riga, in Latvia, at around 0700 GMT, according to Reuters.
The Kremlin press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on Tuesday that there were no plans to hold meetings with representatives of the US administration this week.
The data also showed that the aircraft arrived in Riga on August 23 from the US Camp Springs airbase near Washington, DC.
The flight had left from the US Air Force's Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday afternoon just before 5 pm ET, Flightradar24 data showed. The base is the primary military facility that is used by the US president and senior officials for official air travel.
The last time a US-registered flight came directly from Europe to Russia was in January when special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed for peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.
Theories Surrounding Arrival Of US Military Aircraft
As the C-17 Globemaster is designed for heavy-capacity, long-distance transport of troops and military equipment, its sudden arrival has fuelled multiple theories.
According to The i Paper, speculation points to a potential diplomatic or prisoner exchange. This follows the high-profile release of former US Marine Robert Gilman earlier in August 2026 and previous exchanges earlier in the year.
Although Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations remain heavily deadlocked, a secret diplomatic channel could remain a possibility.