A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday after flying from Riga, Latvia, according to publicly available flight-tracking data. The unexplained arrival has sparked speculation about a possible diplomatic mission, although neither Washington nor Moscow has provided an official explanation.
The aircraft, operating under the callsign RCH4555, departed Riga at around 8:50 am Moscow time and landed at Vnukovo shortly after 10 am, Flightradar24 data showed. Reuters reported that the Boeing Globemaster was carrying a US-registered tail number. Video footage of its arrival showed a cameraman joking, “we are under attack!” as the military aircraft approached the airport.
The C-17 had arrived in Riga on August 23 after flying from Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC, according to flight-tracking data. The aircraft departed Andrews shortly before 5 pm ET on Sunday. The Maryland base is the primary facility used by the US president and senior officials for official air travel.
Kremlin Says It Has No Information
The Kremlin said it was unaware of the aircraft’s arrival. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were no meetings planned with representatives of the US administration, and that the US European Command also reportedly had no immediate comment on the flight’s purpose.
Diplomatic Mission or Prisoner Exchange?
The lack of an official explanation has fuelled speculation that the flight could be connected to diplomatic contacts between Washington and Moscow. One possibility raised by reports is a potential prisoner exchange. The speculation comes after the release of former US Marine Robert Gilman earlier this month and previous prisoner exchanges between the two countries, both of which have involved similar high-level logistical arrangements in the past, fuelling theories that this flight could be part of a broader, still-undisclosed arrangement between the two governments.