Russia says ties with Canada on verge of being ‘severed’ over cargo plane
Global News
The Antonov 124 plane will be the first Russian physical asset captured by Canada under its asset forfeit law, with Ottawa planning to give the plane to Ukraine.
Days after Canada said it is seizing a Russian-registered cargo aircraft, Moscow is warning that ties between the two countries are “already on the verge of being severed.”
And the seizure would have “serious repercussions” for Canada-Russian relations, the Kremlin said.
The Antonov 124 plane will be the first Russian physical asset captured by Canada under its asset forfeit law and second under the federal government’s sanctions regime. It comes more than a year after the plane first landed in the country at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Ottawa announced the planned seizure of the aircraft on Saturday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine. Officials said the seizure was a direct response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In February 2022, Canada banned Russian aircraft from flying in Canadian airspace, effectively grounding the plane and forcing it to remain grounded. It had landed in Canada to deliver a shipment of COVID-19 antigen tests.
“The aircraft has been illegally detained at the Toronto airport since February 2022. We perceive this act as cynical and shameless theft,” reads a statement posted to the Russian foreign ministry’s website.
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.
On Saturday, Global Affairs Canada said the plane was being taken to try and put “additional pressure on Russia to stop its illegal war against Ukraine by straining its economic system and limiting resources that fuel the war.”