A Russian Ilyushin Il-96 special flight departed St. Petersburg to Washington to pick up Russian diplomats.
A Ilyushin Il-96 Russian left Moscow en route to St. Petersburg on Friday night and then landed in Washington Dulles airport to pick up 13 expelled Russian diplomats, according to the State Department.
“The U.S. government approved a flight chartered by the Russian government to facilitate the departure of Russian UN Mission personnel who were expelled for abuse of their privileges of residence,” said a State Department spokesperson.
“This special exception was done in accordance with federal regulations to ensure Russian mission personnel and their families departed by the date we had instructed.”
On Feb. 28, the U.S. mission to the United Nations announced it was expelling the diplomats, which it accused of spying on the United States.
“We are beginning the process of expelling 12 intelligence operatives from the Russian Mission who have abused their privileges of residency in the United States by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security,” the mission said at the time in a statement, noting the move had been in development for “several months.”
Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, told reporters earlier this week that the diplomats had to leave the U.S. by Monday.
The same plane (reg. RA-96019) has been used to fly Russian officials from Moscow to Belarus for the first two rounds of peace negotiations with Ukraine.