Russian Foreign Ministry warned Canada about retaliatory measures in the transfer of Russian aircraft to Ukraine

Russia reserves the right to retaliate if Canada hands over an An-124 cargo plane owned by the Russian company Volga-Dnepr to Ukraine. About it says in the comments of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“Practical implementation of this decision will have the most serious consequences for Russian-Canadian relations, already balancing on the verge of breaking due to the fault of the official Ottawa… We reserve the right to retaliate, guided by the principle of reciprocity,” the message says.

The very fact that Canada holds this aircraft is regarded by Russia as “cynical shameless theft,” and Ottawa, at the direction of the United States, is setting Kyiv “to war with Russia to the last Ukrainian,” Zakharova added.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision to transfer this aircraft to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. No details were given about this step.

The Ruslan cargo plane, owned by Volga-Dnepr, flew into Toronto on February 27 last year, two hours before Canada decided to close the skies to Russian aviation as part of the sanctions imposed due to the special operation. However, local authorities decided to detain the board, and only the crew was able to return to Russia. The plane was transporting anti-covid drugs, Zakharova explained. As noted by Reuters, the plane was transporting tests for coronavirus from China by order of the Canadian government.