Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the decision by the Government of Canada to confiscate an Antonov An-124 aircraft

During his trip to Kiev, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced the decision to launch the procedure for confiscating an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft owned by the Russian company Volga-Dnepr, citing Canadian sanctions legislation. The aircraft has been illegally detained at the Toronto airport since February 2022. We perceive this act as cynical and shameless theft.

The administration of Justin Trudeau continues the tradition of its predecessors who granted political asylum to Nazi accomplices from among diehard pro-Bandera supporters. Acting on US orders, it motivates Ukrainian authorities to wage a war against Russia until the last Ukrainian. They pledge military and financial assistance, which, in reality, has not been all that generous, and promise to reward the Ukrainians for their zeal with stolen Russian property.

The An-124 aircraft, which delivered Covid-19 medications to Toronto under a humanitarian project at the request of the Canadian government, was prevented from leaving the airport and was essentially taken hostage. It now turns out that Canadian authorities had a far-reaching aim in mind: to steal this unique aircraft and to hand it over to their clients in Kiev.

The Russian side warns that the practical implementation of this decision will entail the most serious repercussions for Russian-Canadian relations, which are already on the verge of being severed through the fault of the official Ottawa. Any attempts to cover up this illegal and shameful act by judicial procedures will not impart even a semblance of legitimacy to it. We reserve the right to retaliate in line with the reciprocity principle.