US military transport plane lands in Moscow; Kremlin says it has no information

A US military transport plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Tuesday, according to flight tracking data. The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, registered in the US with tail number 07-7181, made a direct flight from Riga, Latvia, arriving around 9:00 a.m. local time.

This landing marks the first direct flight by a US aircraft to Russia since January of this year. In January, a US-registered jet also flew from Europe to Russia, carrying special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace talks with President Vladimir Putin.

Unverified footage circulating on X/Twitter appears to show the aircraft approaching the Russian airport. Reuters has not been able to independently verify if the plane carried any cargo or passengers. The Kremlin has stated that it currently has no information regarding the aircraft's arrival.

The C-17's journey began on August 23, when it flew from US Camp Springs airbase near Washington, D.C., to Riga, according to Flightradar24 data. The Kremlin recently indicated it lacked information about another potential visit by Kushner and Witkoff, as US-Russia talks on Ukraine have largely stalled.