Canada seizes Russian plane "Ruslan" in favor of Ukraine
An-124 Ruslan in Toronto (Photo: Olga Stefanishyna)

Canada has begun the process of confiscating the An-124 Ruslan transport aircraft, which belongs to the Russian airline Volga-Dnepr, and was already under Canadian arrest. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration – Minister of Justice Olga Stefanishyna.

The confiscation procedure is taking place under the Canadian Special Economic Measures Act and the confiscation decision is currently pending in the Ontario Superior Court.

"This is another important step on the path to justice and the restoration of peace in Ukraine. Filing a lawsuit to confiscate the aircraft in court is the joint result of the painstaking work of employees of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in close cooperation with our partners," Stefanishyna noted.

According to her, the Canadian prosecutor's office has filed a motion with the Ontario Superior Court to seize the Russian plane based on documents provided by the Ukrainian side.

In particular, the Ministry of Justice transferred to Canadian partners the decision of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of August 2023 on the application of sanctions in the form of confiscation of assets of the sanctioned Volga-Dnepr to the income of Ukraine.

Canada became the first Western country to legislate the possibility of using confiscated Russian assets that were subject to sanctions due to the war in support of Ukraine.

  • In June 2024, the leaders of the G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada) agreed to provide Ukraine with $50 billion , using future proceeds from frozen assets of the Russian Federation.
  • The European Union will provide 18.1 billion euros, the United States – $20 billion , Canada has promised 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.6 billion), Britain – 2.26 billion pounds sterling ($3 billion), Japan – 471.9 billion yen ($3 billion).
  • On April 25, 2025, the National Bank stated that the full confiscation of frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine would not have a significant negative impact on the perception of the euro and its role in the international financial system, although the European Central Bank (ECB) expressed some concerns about this.