Canada Takes Steps to Transfer Stranded Russian Cargo Plane to Ukraine

Canada is proceeding with a legal initiative to claim complete ownership of a Russian Antonov An-124 cargo plane, which may be transferred to Ukraine, as stated by the country’s foreign ministry.

The Antonov An-124, recognized as the largest mass-produced cargo plane globally, has been stuck at Toronto Pearson International Airport for more than three years due to airspace restrictions imposed by Canada following the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

«The Attorney General of Canada initiated forfeiture proceedings by requesting a Notice of Application from the Superior Court of Ontario on March 18, 2025,» a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada informed the Ontario-based news outlet Insauga.

The Antonov An-124 is one of only 26 such aircraft worldwide. Standing as tall as a seven-story building and almost as long as a football field, it belongs to Volga-Dnepr Airlines, a private Russian freight company, and is estimated to be worth around $300 million.

At the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the aircraft was in the process of delivering a shipment of COVID-19 test kits from China to Canada. Ottawa closed its airspace to Russian airlines just three days later, while the plane was still unloading its cargo in Toronto.

Canadian authorities officially seized the plane in June 2023. At that time, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the aircraft would soon be sent to Kyiv to prevent its use by Russia in the future.

The ownership of the plane has been embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute, with Volga-Dnepr filing lawsuits in Canada in an attempt to halt the confiscation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has characterized the aircraft seizure as «cynical and shameless theft.»

Alexei Isaikin, the founder of Volga-Dnepr and a former military economist, established the company as a global leader in oversized cargo transport utilizing the Antonov An-124 during the 1990s. He has since been sanctioned by the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. following the Ukrainian invasion.

The airline’s ownership has now transitioned to senior executives Igor Aksenov, Valery Gabriel, Sergei Dyachkov, and Vildan Zinnurov.