The An-124 Ruslan belonged to the Russian airline Volga-Dnepr, against which Ottawa imposed sanctions. The plane is under arrest in Canada.
According to Anand, the An-124 “is a powerful symbol of responsibility.” As the Canadian minister pointed out, “those who contribute to Russia’s war will be held accountable,” and Ukraine “will not be left alone with reconstruction.”
Anand noted that the Canadian government filed a lawsuit to confiscate the plane at the beginning of the year. She added that it was difficult to unravel the ownership structure of the seized An-124.
As the head of the Foreign Ministry said, the Canadian government is considering several options for transferring the aircraft to Ukraine, which, in addition to judicial procedures, may include the legislative process.
Anand recalled that Russia completely destroyed some Antonov aircraft that were in Ukraine at the beginning of the war.
“Therefore, in a certain sense, this is a replenishment of the Antonov fleet,” summed up the Canadian minister.
Context
The An-124 “Ruslan” is the last aircraft created under the direct supervision of designer Oleg Antonov, according to the website of the Antonov state enterprise. The aircraft is the world's largest production transport aircraft. The modified “Ruslan” – An-124-100 – successfully operates in the global commercial transportation market.
The An-124 “Ruslan” belonged to Moscow before the full-scale invasion of the aggressor country Russia in Ukraine. In Canada, he was arrested at the end of February 2022, Avweb reported. The plane was in the sky when Canada joined international sanctions against the Russian Federation. But upon landing at Toronto airport on February 27, he was arrested as Canada announced the closure of the skies to Russian air carriers.
In June 2023, Canada began the process of transferring the aircraft to Ukraine so that it would no longer be used by Russia, said then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In May 2025, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice reported that Canada had begun the process of confiscating the Russian An-124 aircraft.
