On February 20, 2026, a passenger Boeing 787, which took off from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, crossed Russian airspace in the Murmansk region before heading to Kazakhstan.
According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft first flew over Greenland, then over Norway and Finland, before entering Russian airspace, flying over Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, and Kirov regions. At 10:00 Moscow time (13:00 Astana time), it crossed the border into Kazakhstan.
It should be noted that since 2022, there has been a restriction on direct air transportation between Russia and the United States. Initially, the restrictions were imposed by the American side on Russian airlines, to which Russia responded with similar measures, closing its airspace to American airlines.
At this time, it is unclear who was on board the Boeing 787 and what the purpose of this flight was. Official comments from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Rosaviatsiya, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan have not yet been received.
Military expert Yuri Knutov expressed the opinion that the unidentified U.S. Air Force aircraft that flew over Russia on February 20 might have been carrying "unusual" cargo to Kazakhstan. He suggests that this action could be related to the strengthening military cooperation between Kazakhstan and the U.S. Knutov expressed doubt that the aircraft was on a reconnaissance mission, suggesting that there might have been urgent cargo on board. He noted that Russia provided an air corridor and determined the route for this flight, emphasizing that any unauthorized intrusion would have triggered an immediate response from Russian fighters.
— I don't think it was a reconnaissance aircraft. Most likely, it was a delivery of cargo directly to Kazakhstan from the U.S. Currently, the U.S. is actively cooperating with the Kazakh armed forces and the country as a whole. Perhaps something urgent was sent. We provided the shortest route through Russia. Although it's hard to predict, it was certainly an extreme flight, and the fact that we accommodated it is also a fact, — he commented in an interview with gazeta.ru. As of now, the details of the delivery remain unknown.
The Boeing 787, which took off from the American Andrews Air Force Base, entered the airspace of Uzbekistan and then Kyrgyzstan on the morning of February 20, according to data from Flightradar24.
