Russia Threatens To Cancel Relations With Canada Over Plane Seizure

Russia says diplomatic relations with Canada are "on the verge of being severed" after the Canadian government seized an An-124 cargo plane that has been stranded in Toronto for more than a year. The government intends to hand the massive aircraft over to Ukraine after it was unable to leave Canada because of a flight ban imposed over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "We perceive this act as cynical and shameless theft," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The aircraft, owned by cargo airline Volga Dneper, flew from Anchorage to Toronto on the night of the invasion. It was carrying COVID-19 test kits. By the time it landed, Canada had imposed a ban on the operation of Russian aircraft in its airspace. It has since languished on ramp at Pearson International Airport next to the main terminal. It has racked up millions of dollars in ramp fees.

The government, with a Cabinet order, ordered the seizure under a recently enacted law that allows the diversion of assets seized from Russia to Ukraine as war reparations. Russia, which re-registered more than 100 Boeing and Airbus airliners owned by Western lease companies after the invasion, was not amused by the Canadian action. "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," the Russian foreign ministry wrote. "We reserve the right to retaliate in line with the reciprocity principle."