Mystery US military plane lands in Russia
What's the story
A United States military aircraft entered Russian airspace on Tuesday morning. The US Air Force RCH4555 was tracked entering Russia from Latvia on the Flightradar24 map. The aircraft took off from Riga this morning; however, its destination remained unknown. In another update, Flightradar24 said the "US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport."
Flight path
Aircraft's previous flight details
The aircraft's previous flight details show it left the United States on August 22, first landing in Charleston after departing Wrightstown. The next day, it flew from Charleston to Camp Springs and then to Riga, Latvia. All three locations host US military bases.
However, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said he has no information about the US Air Force aircraft arriving at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow.
Drone alerts
NATO downed drone that entered Latvia in June
In June, NATO aircraft shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, as confirmed by the Latvian National Armed Forces.
This incident was similar to an earlier one in May, when Latvia's armed forces responded to another unidentified drone entering their territory.
At that time, it was the third consecutive day of a drone-related air alert in Latvia.
Escalation fears
Fears of Russia expanding war to NATO countries
There have been rising fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin might escalate his conflict with the West by targeting NATO countries.
British former Army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon speculated that Putin could consider a "small incursion" into Latvia or Estonia.
He added that Russia is already using hybrid warfare tactics against these nations, including cyber and espionage activities.