Kyiv announced the start of Canada's confiscation of a Russian An-124.

The Attorney General of CANADA has filed a motion with the Ontario Superior COURT of Justice to seize a Russian An-124 Ruslan aircraft operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which has been unable to leave the country since the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine .

This was announced by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna. According to her, the confiscation procedure is being carried out under Canada's Special Economic Measures Act.

"The lawsuit to confiscate the plane is the result of the painstaking work of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close cooperation with our partners. And this is an excellent example of how international law works in practice," Stefanishina wrote on her FACEBOOK page.FACEBOOK (owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized as extremist and banned in RUSSIA).

Ukraine expects Canada to hand over the confiscated aircraft after the court proceedings are completed. The aircraft will replace the An-124s destroyed during the fighting at Gostomel Airport near Kyiv in February 2022, Stefanishyna noted.

The An-124 Ruslan was developed by the Soviet Antonov Design Bureau and is today considered the largest production transport aircraft in the world. Its maiden flight took place on December 24, 1982, in Kyiv. The Ruslan is capable of transporting locomotives, yachts, and even the fuselages of other aircraft. Its length is approximately 69 meters. At 21 meters tall, it is comparable to a seven-story building.

At the end of February 2022, Volga-Dnepr Airlines' An-124 delivered test systems to Toronto Airport for testingcovid-19 . Since then, he has been unable to leave the country due to Canada's ban on Russian air carriers using its airspace.

In the summer of 2023, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to hand over the detained aircraft to Kyiv. At the same time, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) upheld the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice's claim to seize the assets of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which Kyiv and the European Union had imposed sanctions on, for state use . These assets included the An-124 aircraft in Toronto. The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice forwarded the HACC's decision to the Canadian authorities.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines offered to settle the dispute over the seized aircraft with Canadian authorities, but they refused, the airline stated. The company then initiated international arbitration proceedings under the investment agreement between Russia and Canada. It estimated its damages at $100 million.

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