A Russian Air Force aircraft in flight over.. Italy

Since February 2022, the airspace over Europe and NATO countries (with the notable exception of Turkey) has been closed to Russian aircraft.
This afternoon, however, an Ilyushin Il-96-300 of the Russian Air Force (reg. RA-96019) flew from Moscow to Geneva, crossing the entire length of the Italian peninsula from south to north.
This should not come as a surprise, as the aircraft was carrying Russian diplomats en route to Geneva. Such flights are granted special diplomatic clearance and, over the past few years, similar missions have been carried out from Russia to NATO countries (including, for example, New York), transporting personnel assigned to embassies or international organizations.