A Russian Tu-154 military aircraft landed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday evening. The aircraft took off from the Chkalovsky air base near Moscow and arrived in Israel at around 21:00.
The aircraft is used to transport senior government officials and military command representatives. The flight was initially detected by online air traffic tracking platforms, and footage from the airport subsequently emerged.
Reason for visit remains unknown
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that no similar flight had been recorded in the country in recent years. Preliminary data indicate that the aircraft is scheduled to leave Israel within the day.
There is no official information about the purpose of the visit or the identities of the people on board. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the Israeli prime minister’s office and the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv declined to comment on the incident.
The unusual landing comes against the backdrop of longstanding contacts between Israel and Russia, mainly related to Russia’s military presence in Syria and mechanisms for preventing incidents near the Israeli border. In recent years, Moscow significantly reduced its contingent in Syria, and later began regrouping forces and equipment at the Hmeimim base near Latakia.
Sources: novini.bg, jpost.com, newsru.co.il