Canada to confiscate Russian An-124 "Ruslan" in favor of Ukraine — Stefanishyna
Canada has launched the process of confiscating the An-124 "Ruslan" cargo aircraft owned by the Russian airline Volga-Dnepr, which had already been under Canadian arrest.
As reported by Censor.NET, this was announced by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice, Olha Stefanishyna.
"The confiscation of the Russian ‘Ruslan’ aircraft was one of my first objectives during my first month as Minister of Justice. And here we have the result of our team’s efforts," she wrote.
According to Stefanishyna, the confiscation is being carried out under Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act. The final decision will be made by the Superior Court of Ontario.
Stefanishyna emphasized that filing a confiscation claim in court is the result of a joint, meticulous effort by staff at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close cooperation with international partners. She called it a clear example of how international law works in practice.
She clarified that in August 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) of Ukraine established grounds for sanctions and upheld the Ministry of Justice’s claim to impose sanctions in the form of seizing the sanctioned assets of Volga-Dnepr for the benefit of the state. The Ministry of Justice then forwarded the HACC ruling to Canada’s partners. Now, the Attorney General of Canada has submitted a motion to the Ontario Superior Court to confiscate the Russian aircraft.
As reported, the An-124 aircraft has been at Toronto Pearson Airport since February 27, 2022, when Canada closed its airspace to Russian aircraft in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In June 2023, the aircraft was seized, and at the time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to transfer it to Ukraine so that Russia could never use it again.
However, in 2023, the Russian airline Volga-Dnepr filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court, where it continues to challenge the confiscation and assert its ownership of the aircraft.
On May 5, the Attorney General of Canada filed a claim to confiscate the Russian "Ruslan" aircraft.
