RT has captured first video of the just-released Russian on board of a non-stop flight from Miami to Moscow, shortly after take-off.

A smiling Butina, looking visibly relieved after her ordeal in the US, said “hi” to a RT reporter as he greeted her in the aisle.

Butina, released less than 12 hours ago from a US federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, is heading home after spending more than a year behind bars. Arrested in July 2018 and charged with failing to properly register as a foreign agent, the gun activist spent some 8 months in custody, most of it in solitary confinement, before eventually pleading guilty in December.

Her detention and trial have been hyped in the US media as part of the now fizzled-out Russiagate, with Butina referred to as a “spy” and wrongly accused of trading sex for political gain.

Her case was also widely used by the peddlers of anti-Russian narratives to whip up Russophobia.Butina is expected to land at Moscow Sheremetyevo’s airport just after noon local time on Saturday, where she will be greeted by friends and family along with Russian and international journalists.

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