U.S. military transport plane lands in Moscow in rare visit

A U.S. military transport aircraft landed at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport on Tuesday morning, marking a rare arrival in Russian airspace since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III departed Andrews Air Force Base near Washington on Sunday afternoon, local time, according to flight tracking data. The aircraft made a stop in Riga, Latvia, before continuing to Moscow, arriving around 10 a.m. Moscow time (7 a.m. GMT), according to online air traffic monitoring systems and EU air traffic control sources.

According to CBS and Axios, CIA Director John Ratcliffe was aboard the aircraft, though neither outlet disclosed the purpose of the visit. The plane flew with its location tracking system active throughout the journey.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told NBC News that he had no information about the aircraft or the reason for its landing in Moscow. The C-17A had not entered Russian airspace since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to available records.

Speculation about the visit has centered on possible diplomatic discussions related to the Ukraine conflict or prisoner exchanges, though no official confirmation has been provided by U.S. or Russian authorities.

The C-17A Globemaster III is a four-engine heavy-lift cargo aircraft and a cornerstone of the U.S. Air Force's logistics fleet. Andrews Air Force Base, from which the aircraft departed, serves as the operational base for Air Force One, the official aircraft of the U.S. president.

EU air traffic control sources confirmed to TASS that the aircraft had also visited Charleston Airport before its journey to Riga and subsequently to Moscow.