Russian airplane overflies the EU
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Aviation HQ@2:292/854 to
All on Wed Feb 18 12:46:26 2026
A Russian Ilyushin Il-96 landed at Geneva Airport on Tuesday morning for talks about the war in Ukraine. The government plane, registration RA-96018, departed Moscow's Vnukovo Airport at 11:35 p.m. local time on Monday evening and headed for Switzerland.
On board was the Russian delegation for the peace talks, including chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galusin. The talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the United States acting as facilitator.
Remarkably, the plane managed to reach Geneva despite the European airspace ban on Russian aircraft since the outbreak of the war. The Il-96 took a detour via Turkish and Italian airspace, both NATO members, and landed in Switzerland early that morning. According to Swissinfo.ch, the necessary permission was granted with the support of the United States.
Polish airspace was avoided. Poland has banned flights carrying Russian officials after Russian drones and fighter jets violated the country's airspac.
--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)