"The plane has taken off, everyone is on board," said the Russian embassy in Washington, quoted by the state-owned Ria Novosti agency. Relatives of the diplomats are also onboard, making 96 in all.
The expulsions were part of a package of sanctions ordered by President Barack Obama on Thursday in the final weeks of his administration.
US intelligence says the Kremlin ordered a hack-and-release of Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign staff emails in a bid to put Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2017