The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova commented on the reports of a special flight from Russia to the US. "This is due to the rotation of diplomats", she said.
On December 26, an Il-96-300 with the registration number RA-96023, belonging to the special flight unit "Russia", took off for New York and then headed to Washington. According to Flightradar, the plane returned to Russia on December 28.