Canadian government orders seizure of Russian cargo plane at Toronto airport
Global News
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.
Prosecutors say that the defendant had made 'several attempts' to buy weapons illegally outside the country and to bring them to Austria.
The anniversary coincides with the release of a joint statement by five European countries that said Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a rare and lethal toxin.
'The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,' Trump said
French President Emmanuel Macron also told the Munich Security Conference that Europe had to become a geopolitical power given the Russian threat would not disappear.
Kathy Ruemmler from Goldman Sachs is one of the latest to leave her job after connections to Jeffrey Epstein were uncovered.
'Unless officially announced by the administration, however, any reporting about changes to our current tariff regime is baseless speculation.'
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a breakaway group of former OpenAI employees who pledged to design a more safety-centric approach to AI development.
Venezuela’s acting president said Nicolás Maduro remains the country’s ‘legitimate’ leader, despite being held in the U.S. on charges of federal drug trafficking.
Laegreid's ex-girlfriend said she has been in contact with her former partner and that he is aware of her opinion on the situation.
Tuesday afternoon's mass school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., has been called 'one of the worst mass shootings' in Canada, minister says.
The suspension of Air Canada flights to Cuba after the country warned airlines of a fuel shortage marks the latest blow for the island's economy amid increased U.S. pressure.
With thousands of warm temperature records being broken across the U.S. Midwest this winter, scientists say snow cover and snow depth are at their lowest levels in decades.
Skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych's helmet showcased pictures of friends killed during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.