Egypt has ignored U.S. requests to close its airspace to Russian military flights, American and Egyptian officials said, testing the limits of Washington’s ability to choke off Moscow’s supplies ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the United States and Ukraine were successful in convincing many nations, notably Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, to restrict access to at least some Russian military jets. As a result, Moscow's aircraft had to fly 2,000 additional miles and spend up to five hours more in the air in order to reach vital sites in Syria.

The Russian government has been accused by authorities from the United States of using the aircraft to transport weapons from Syria to Ukraine.

According to authorities who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, Egypt has not reacted to the demands made by multiple US officials in February and March to close its airspace to Russian military overflights.

Both the United States Department of State and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the current situation, and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the report in the Journal, flight records show that at least seven Russian military planes traveled to and from Syria over the course of two weeks at the end of April and the beginning of May.

As per the report, at least two Russian cargo planes went from Russia to Syria in April before returning to Russia's Black Sea region near the border with Ukraine. The flight began in Russia and ended in Syria.

Image source: Zuma Press