US military plane lands in Moscow amid Ukraine talks pause

A US military transport aircraft landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Tuesday, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, amid a pause in US-Russia negotiations over Ukraine. The Boeing Globemaster, registration 07-7181, flew directly from Riga, Latvia, and touched down around 07:00 GMT Source: ABC. The Kremlin said it had no information about the flight Source: ABC. The last direct US-registered flight from Europe to Russia was in January, carrying envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace talks Source: ABC.

CIA director visit

Hours later, US media reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Moscow for meetings. CBS News, citing sources familiar with the situation, confirmed the trip, calling it his first known visit to Russia as CIA director; Axios separately confirmed it Source: ABC. Neither the CIA nor the White House commented immediately Source: ABC. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said he had no information about the visit and that no meetings with US administration representatives were planned at the Kremlin this week Source: Diario Libre.

Possible reasons

This type of aircraft can be used for diplomatic travel or prisoner exchanges Source: Diario Libre. Russia and the US have conducted several swaps in the past, but Washington continues to seek the return of several detained citizens Source: Diario Libre. The Financial Times reported that Washington asked Ukraine to refrain from attacking Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other northern Russian areas on Monday through Wednesday to allow a senior US official's travel Source: El Mundo.

Disagreement

Sources disagree on whether the plane landed: Flightradar24 data showed it near Vnukovo but did not confirm landing Source: Diario Libre, while ABC reported it had landed Source: ABC. The Kremlin and US officials have not officially confirmed the CIA director's visit Source: El Mundo.