On February 20, 2026, a passenger Boeing 787, which took off from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. (USA), crossed the Russian border over the Murmansk region and entered Kazakh airspace.
According to Flightradar24, the aircraft's route initially passed over Greenland, then over Norway and Finland, after which it crossed into Russia. The plane then flew over the Arkhangelsk and Kirov regions, as well as near Ufa.
At around 10:00 Moscow time (13:00 Astana time), the aircraft crossed the border and entered Kazakhstan.
It should be noted that since 2022, direct flights between Russia and the USA have been suspended. Initially, the USA imposed restrictions on Russian carriers, to which Russia responded with similar measures, closing its airspace to American companies.
It is still unknown who was on board the Boeing 787 and what the purpose of the flight was. At the time of publication, there were no comments from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Rosaviation, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
Military expert Yuri Knutov suggested that the unidentified U.S. Air Force aircraft that flew over Russia on February 20 might have been delivering "unusual" cargo to Kazakhstan, as reported by Ulysmedia.kz.
Knutov noted that such an operation could be related to the expanding military cooperation between Kazakhstan and the USA. He expressed doubt that it was a reconnaissance flight, suggesting that the aircraft might have been used for urgent cargo delivery. For this, Russia provided an air corridor and designated the route. The expert added that unauthorized border crossing would have led to an immediate response from Russian fighters.
— I am not sure that it was a reconnaissance aircraft. Most likely, it was a cargo delivery to Kazakhstan from the USA. Currently, cooperation between the USA and the Kazakh army is actively developing. There may have been a need for urgent transfer, and Russia accommodated this. Through its territory, it is the shortest route. Although it is difficult to assume anything, the flight was clearly extreme, and it is also obvious that we went along with it, — he said in an interview with gazeta.ru. However, what exactly was delivered to Kazakhstan is still unspecified.
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 Flightradar24.
