The ambassador called Canada's attempt to confiscate the Volga-Dnepr aircraft illegal.

Canada's attempt to confiscate a Volga-Dnepr plane is illegal, and Ottawa must compensate the plane's owners, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told TASS .

"Such actions are illegitimate. <...> The aircraft must be unconditionally returned to its owner. Then, apparently, Canada will be required to compensate the plane's owners, Volga-Dnepr," he emphasized.

According to Stepanov, "the Canadian side seized the plane, which had arrived to carry out a humanitarian mission at its own request, and then retroactively included the owners on the sanctions list."

At the end of February 2022, an An-124 aircraft of Volga-Dnepr Airlines delivered tests to Toronto Airport for testingCOVID-19 and has since been unable to leave the country due to Canada's ban on Russian air carriers using its airspace.

In the summer of 2023, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to hand over the seized plane to Kyiv. Volga-Dnepr Airlines offered to settle the dispute over the seized plane with Canadian authorities, but they refused. They estimated their losses at $100 million.

In May, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna announced the Attorney General's Office of Canada had filed a motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to confiscate the An-124 aircraft. Stefanishyna noted that Ukraine expects the confiscated aircraft to be returned to it after the court proceedings are completed.

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