Ukrainian justice minister Olha Stefanishyna believes Canadian efforts to confiscate a Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-150 will result in the heavy transport aircraft being transferred to Ukraine.
Stefanishyna says Canadian authorities have “begun the process” of seizing the jet – parked at Toronto Pearson airport – and that “painstaking work” has resulted in legal proceedings
“Seizure of the Russian [An-124] was one of my first aims in my first month as minister of justice,” she says.
“I am convinced that [the aircraft] will soon have a new home, in Ukraine, where it will serve for the benefit of our state.”
Canada’s government has moved to implement commitments to seize, and redistribute, assets of individuals sanctioned over the Ukrainian conflict.
It initially used the authorisation in December 2022 to restrain financial sums from a company called Granite Capital Holdings, which it believed to be controlled by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.
The An-124 became the second asset to be seized, in June 2023.
Formerly operated by Russian outsize cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Group, the aircraft bears the Russian registration RA-82078.
Canada’s government issued an order in February identifying several parties – including Russia’s Sberbank, various Volga-Dnepr entities, and Volga-Dnepr founder Alexei Isaikin – as owners or controllers of the jet.
Stefanishyna says Canadian authorities are applying to the Ontario Superior Court to secure the aircraft.
“This is another important step on the path to justice and the restoration of peace in Ukraine,” she says. “And this is a great example of how international law works in practice.”
