By Reuters, August 25, 2026
A U.S. military transport aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Tuesday, flight-tracking data showed, prompting questions from Russian officials who said they had no information about the visit.
Flightradar24 data identified the plane as a large Boeing Globemaster with U.S. registration 07-7181. The aircraft arrived in Moscow at around 0700 GMT after a direct flight from Riga, Latvia. Reuters was unable to verify whether the jet carried cargo or passengers.
The same tracking records show the aircraft landed in Riga on August 23 after departing Camp Springs airbase near Washington, D.C. The Kremlin said it had no information on the plane or the purpose of its flight.
Direct flights by U.S.-registered jets to Russia have been rare this year. The last known direct flight from Europe to Russia by a U.S. registered aircraft occurred in January, when special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to meet Russian officials for talks related to Ukraine.
Moscow last week said it had no information about another potential visit by Kushner and Witkoff. Diplomatic contacts between the United States and Russia on Ukraine have largely stalled, officials say, amid heightened tensions connected to the war in Iran.