A U.S. military C-17A Globemaster III aircraft was captured on video landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Wednesday, August 25, 2026. The Kremlin has reportedly stated it has no information about the flight.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated that the aircraft departed Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday afternoon, with an initial destination of Riga, Latvia. The plane then proceeded from Riga to Moscow on Wednesday morning.
The U.S. Department of War provided a brief statement to Fox News Digital, stating, "We have nothing to provide on this subject." Inquiries were also sent to the White House and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for comment.
The last recorded direct flight by a U.S.-registered jet to Russia from Europe occurred in January 2026. At that time, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of then-President Donald Trump, visited Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Following the January meeting, Yury Ushakov, an aide to Putin, commented that the U.S. representatives shared their observations and assessments regarding prior meetings between the U.S. president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ushakov added that the primary focus of the January meeting was to gather information resulting from U.S. contacts with Ukrainian and European officials to inform further steps between the two countries.