The first went: Russia risks losing four serviceable An-124 Ruslan at once
An-124-100 with onboard RA-82078. Will soon pass to the Ukrainians. Source: airwaysmag.com
Canadian shame
On February 27, 2022, an An-124 Ruslan transport vehicle with a large batch of covid tests from China landed at the Canadian airport in Toronto Pearson. The plane was chartered by Canada from the Russian private company Volga-Dnepr. Ruslan with tail number RA-82078 landed just a couple of hours before the Canadian government closed the country's skies to Russian aircraft.
By and large, even then it was clear that it would not be so easy to get back a unique aircraft. It’s good that at least a crew of eight people was sent to Russia.
The requirement to pay for the parking of the giant added to the cynicism of the situation - this dubious pleasure cost the owner of the aircraft a thousand Canadian dollars or 50 thousand rubles per day. In total, the Canadian airport received at least 100 local dollars for the downtime of the Ruslan. Now the company's debt is approaching half a million dollars.
The situation with the stuck An-124 was eventually resolved in the worst possible way. During his visit to Kyiv, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the Russian An-124 was arrested, seized and will be handed over to Ukraine in the near future.
The machine is in perfect working order and aviation The standards are quite fresh - the age of 26 years. Once again, a transport aircraft of strategic importance for the state will be handed over to our enemy. Do not forget about the considerable residual value of the car. According to some estimates, up to 800 million rubles.
Source: airwaysmag.com
The Canadian robbery was preceded by many events.
Firstly, the operator and owner of the Volga-Dnepr aircraft since April 2023 under the sanctions of the Canadian government. A purely civilian carrier came under distribution simply for supporting the Russian government. No adequate charges were brought against the company's board, but this was the basis for the seizure of the transport aircraft. More precisely, under the impending confiscation of the aircraft, the Volga-Dnepr group and the Volga-Dnepr airline were brought under sanctions by the Canadians.
Secondly, the Kiev regime has long been sharpening its teeth on this An-124. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported back in April 2023:
“A new package of sanctions against Russia from Canada. In particular, against the Volga-Dnepr company. We are preparing to confiscate the An-124 aircraft and other assets of the aggressor in Canada and transfer them to Ukraine.”
The advantage of Ruslan for Ukraine is its extensive experience in operating and repairing aircraft of this type. D-18T engines were developed and produced at the Zaporozhye Motor Sich - spare parts will be found for sure. There is no need to retrain crews and maintenance personnel - the local company Antonov Airlines operates seven An-124s. Now it will be the eighth.
Naturally, it will not appear in Ukraine - it will transport equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to nearby NATO bases, as it happened more than once or twice with other Antonov aircraft. Ukrainians are also not averse to occupying a vacant market niche after Volga-Dnepr, which is seriously limited in freedom.
But in Ottawa, apparently, they were slow to hand over the transport aircraft that was detained in Toronto.
The third event is Kyiv's scandal regarding small deliveries of Canadian weapons. At one of the arms exhibitions, the chief of the Ministry of Defense, Reznikov, "expressed hope" for some provisions on Ottawa's obligations to Kiev. In the supply of weapons, of course. The greed of the Kyiv regime has no limits.
Kyiv is still being listened to, and Trudeau brought good news there - the Russian An-124 has been confiscated and soon a number with the letters UR will appear on its fuselage.
Looking forward to next?
On one "Ruslan" story with western robbery will not end. The Volga-Dnepr airline has three more An-124s stuck at the Leipzig-Halle airport. Board numbers - RA-82043, RA-82045 and RA-82046.
These are the most valuable aircraft of the sad dozens detained in Germany - among others, there is a Boeing 747 at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, and a Boeing 737 is stuck in Cologne. The rest are private jets such as Embraer Legacy 600 and Bombardier Global Express. Unpleasant, of course, but Russia will not feel much damage from the loss of business-class aircraft.
"Volga-Dnepr" did not get up after the sanctions and the actual confiscation of four out of ten super-heavy aircraft at once, which are airworthy. Ruslans fly actively in Russia, as well as to countries where Western restrictions do not apply - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Flight life, of course, did not stop, but the lack of four sides at once will inevitably affect both the company's revenue and the wear and tear of the Ruslans. There is not much to repair the D-18T engines, which come from Zaporozhye.
An open question is whether Volga-Dnepr pays for the parking of sanctioned aircraft in Germany? A tidy sum could run up in a year and a half.
Worst of all, Canadian theft could set a precedent for the German government. First of all, if Russia does not respond sensitively to Canada for the brazen robbery of a civilian ship and transfer to the enemy. So far, Russia is limited only by threats. For example, Oleg Stepanov, Ambassador to Canada, said about the thieving Trudeau:
“This is completely illegal, this is theft, robbery. The Trudeau regime has shown that the rule of law does not exist in Canada.”
Unfortunately, the louder and brighter the voices of Russian officials about crossing the red lines, the less tangible are the results. We hold a modest hope that this time will be different. Moreover, if you scratch it, then in our country there is a lot of private property among Canadians. Is it really impossible to find 500-900 million rubles?
If it works out, then you can withdraw a couple of billion. Only a mirror answer is required - to take only from individuals or companies, not from the Canadian government. The fact that after that investors will think eight times whether to enter Russia after that, you should not be afraid. Canada hasn't given much thought to its image, and we shouldn't. In the end, now between Moscow and Ottawa there is almost a hot war going on.
The confiscation scheme can be taken from Trudeau himself - first the sanctions, then the law for confiscation, and then the seizure for some good deeds. For example, for the needs of the army, which is now engaged in the denazification of Ukraine.
Most likely, the Ukrainian Antonov Airlines will receive the right to operate the Russian Ruslan
Now the presence of three An-124s in Germany is clearly the subject of an underground diplomatic bargaining - the Germans will not just give up Ruslanas. Moreover, under Russian numbers, they will not even be able to take off. The story of the planes in Leipzig will continue.
At the end, a little about the sad. Although the material without it does not shine with optimism.
A few questions for the responsible persons.
How did it happen that on February 27, 2022, three days after the start of the special operation, our Ruslan landed in Toronto?
An-124 is originally a military transport aircraft of a strategic level, which we cannot produce. Each "Ruslan" is worth its weight in gold, both for the state and for the army. Even if it is in private hands.
And three more giants at the beginning of the Russian military operation generally stood in Germany. At the time of the evacuation of diplomats from Kyiv, it was impossible to send planes urgently to Russia? Under any false pretext?
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