Overview
- The Kremlin-operated Ilyushin Il-96, registration RA-96018, landed at Cologne/Bonn on Wednesday according to public flight-tracking services.
- The aircraft avoided direct routes over Poland and the Baltic states by flying north over St. Petersburg and the Baltic Sea before entering German airspace near Rügen.
- Reporting says the stop likely aims to collect staff from the Russian consulate in Bonn after the German government ordered its closure following a drone incident, though passenger details have not been officially confirmed.
- Flight-trackers such as Flightradar24 and specialist outlets identified the plane and its planned return to Moscow, and the plane is operated by Russia’s Special Flight Detachment, the state unit that moves top officials.
- The landing underlines how Poland’s and the Baltic states’ overflight bans are reshaping diplomatic travel and could complicate the timely repatriation of embassy and consular personnel in the coming days.