Canadian government orders seizure of Russian cargo plane at Toronto airport

In April, Ukraine's Prime Minister suggested the Russian plane, which has been at Toronto Pearson since February 2022, would be transferred to his government by the Canadians.

The Canadian government has ordered the seizure a Russian aircraft that has been grounded at Toronto Pearson International Airport since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The federal government announced the planned seizure of the Antonov 124 on Saturday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Kyiv. Officials said the plane will be taken as a direct response to Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.

“Today, we are demonstrating that Russia’s actions continue to have consequences,” transport minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement. “We stand with Ukraine and will take any and all necessary actions, including this seizure, to put pressure on President Putin.”

The massive Russian cargo plane has sat on the tarmac at Toronto’s main airport since Canada banned Russian aircraft from entering its airspace in February 2022.

In an April Facebook post, Ukraine’s Prime Minister said he understood Canada was “preparing for (the) confiscation of the AN-124” and that it, along with other assets, it would be transferred to Ukraine.

The plane is owned by a subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Airlines LLC and Volga-Dnepr Group, Canada believes. Both entities recently had sanctions imposed against them as part of Canada’s response to the war in Ukraine.

The sanctions were levelled by the Canadian government on April 11 as part of a raft of measures rolled out against 34 entities that the federal government said are “complicit in Putin’s war of choice, including several security targets linked to the Wagner Group” and parts of the aviation sector.

“By authorizing the seizure of the Antonov 124, Canada reaffirms that impunity is not an option for those who have profited from Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” the federal government said in a statement.