US Deports Several Dozen Russians

• 25.01.2026, 20:24

The first flight has already left for Moscow.

A deportation flight with Russians and other refugees has left the United States. This is the first such deportation in the new year of 2026.

This is reported by Radio Liberty.

"This morning, a deportation flight departed from Mesa, Arizona, carrying Russians who have been denied asylum in the United States," Dmitri Valuyev, head of the organization Russian America for Democracy in Russia, told the publication.

According to media reports, this is the fifth mass flight in the past year and the first in the new year of 2026. Earlier deportations of Russians took place in June, August and December.

The exact number of Russians on board is unknown, but as of Saturday about 20 people were being prepared for deportation. Besides them, Iranian citizens and refugees from Arab countries are also being deported on the flight.

Valuev said some people whose applications for refugee status were still pending were taken off the flight before it departed. Some Russians were held in overcrowded cells before being expelled.