Canada’s move to send Russian aircraft to Ukraine
The North American country will seize the Russian aircraft, held at Toronto airport since 2022, and later send it to Ukraine.
After the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, a Russian cargo plane was “trapped” at Toronto International Airport (Canada). It remains there more than three years into the conflict. But not for much longer — the Canadian government has approved legal procedures to seize the aircraft and transfer it to Ukraine, according to The Moscow Times.
The aircraft is an Antonov An-124 Ruslan, owned by the Russian airline Volga-Dnepr, as confirmed by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. The decision to seize it stems from cooperation between Ukraine’s Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs and international partners. The legal basis for this claim, according to a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, is tied to a decision by Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court, which imposed sanctions on the aircraft in August 2023.
“The Attorney General of Canada has initiated a forfeiture proceeding, requesting that the Ontario Superior Court issue a Notice of Application on March 18, 2025,” the spokesperson stated. One plane for another: a similar model, the Antonov An-225 Mriya—which was Ukrainian-owned and the largest aircraft in the world—was destroyed at Hostomel Airport shortly after the war began.
The plane, valued at around $300 million, will now serve a nation it was once aligned against. The aircraft was transporting a shipment of COVID-19 tests from China to Canada when Russia launched its invasion. At that moment, Ottawa closed its airspace to Russian airlines, while the aircraft was still unloading its cargo.
More Seized Aircraft
The story, which now seems poised for a positive outcome for Ukraine, officially began in 2023 when the plane was first confiscated. Shortly afterward, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed plans to send it to Ukraine. Now, those plans appear closer to becoming a reality.
But this won’t be the only aircraft transferred to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government. In 2022, twelve An-124-100 aircraft were also seized as part of an ongoing criminal case. Three were barred from leaving Germany, in addition to the one in Canada. These planes, along with other company assets, will be handed over to Ukraine.
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