The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Sanctioned Russian military aircraft lands at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel
The Tupolev Tu-154M, which departed from a military base near Moscow, has been on the US sanctions list since 2023.
A jet operated by the Russian Defense Ministry landed at Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel on Sunday evening, according to flight-tracking data. The aircraft involved is a Tupolev Tu-154M that originated from a military base near Moscow.
The flight path took the aircraft over the Black Sea and through Turkish airspace before entering Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean, where it circled over the country prior to its landing at Ben-Gurion at approximately 7 p.m.
The aircraft is noted as belonging to the 223rd Flight Unit of the Russian Defense Ministry, a unit that has been sanctioned by the United States. The US has identified the unit as involved in transporting personnel and equipment linked to the Wagner mercenary group to various countries.
The Tu-154M has been on the US sanctions list since 2023, with the aircraft listed under Executive Order 14024. The plane had been in Moscow in the past week after arriving from Novosibirsk on November 2, and was reported to have remained there prior to the recent movements.