A US military aircraft, possibly a C-17 Globemaster, landed at Russia's Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday, sparking a wave of theories as Washington and Moscow remain bitter rivals since Cold War days, and tensions are currently high over the Ukraine war.

According to reports and data from Flightradar, the jet was likely a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. It is a transport aircraft used by the US Air Force for long-distance transportation of personnel, military equipment, and cargo.

News agency Reuters reported that the jet, with a US-registered tail number, flew from Riga in Latvia at around 0700 GMT.

In Riga, the aircraft had arrived on August 23 from the US Camp Springs' Sir Andrew Air Force base near Washington DC. The US Air Force base in Maryland is used by the US President and senior officials for formal visits outside the country.

What did Kremin say?

Speaking about the mysterious landing, the Kremlin press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that there were no plans to hold meetings with representatives of the US administration this week.

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Russian news agency TASS cited a source within the European Union air traffic control authorities who confirmed that the US military plane departed from Latvia and proceeded directly toward Russian territory.

So far, no official statement has been released regarding the flight and its purpose of travelling to Moscow, such as diplomatic logistics, prisoner exchanges, or other bilateral administrative matters.

Al Jazeera also cited Flightradar24 to report the landing. However, the Kremlin has denied having any information about the aircraft or its arrival.

Theories and speculations

The incident has sparked speculation and theories. Some reports suggest that the landing could be associated with the expected visit of US special envoy Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for another round of peace talks on the Ukraine conflict.

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The two US negotiators had visited Moscow in January this year for peace talks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't budge from his demands.

Another speculation is about US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth travelling to Russia to give momentum to stalled diplomatic efforts on the Ukraine war.