I hope those C-17s or C-141s have good fighter escorts going in, preferably Raptors. The Russians don't have anything that the F-15C can't handle, although they are working on them. Still Raptors would be nice, since they would not see the fighter escorts, until it was too late, way too late.
A fully loaded flight of say, eight Raptors coming in ahead of the C-17s flying with another four Raptor escorts and with AWACS and Refueling support would make a very good show of force and would probably be enough to sweep anything from the skies the Russians would try to stop it with short of them employing regimentqal strength.
I really do not believe the Russians would try, but in such circumstances you have to be sure and show them that it would be foolhardy to try. But Putin is not to be disscounted or underestimated.