MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Seizure of trains from Karelian Trains, a joint venture of Russian and Finnish railways, by Finland’s VR Group is illegal, the press service of Russian Railways told TASS.

For the time being, the penalty of 552 mln rubles ($ 6 mln) has already been accumulated with the VR Group for failure to abide by decisions of courts.

"The subsequent unilateral seizure of Allegro high-speed trains from this venture by the VR Group, with Russian Railways also participating in their purchase, is illegal as well. Trains were made specifically for carriage of passengers between St. Petersburg and Helsinki and are to operate exactly on this route until 2041," Russian Railways said.

Unlawfulness of actions of the Finnish side is confirmed by decisions of Russian courts, which bind the Finnish railway operator to continue performing contracts made by it. "A fine is stipulated for failure to perform decisions of courts. It already amounts to 552 mln rubles for the time being," the Russian railway company added.

"Termination of the railway service with Russia by the VR Group was not merely the gross violation of long-term contracts with Russian Railways and Russian-Finnish international agreement, but also severed historic ties between Russian and Finnish railway operators, and deprived the people of the opportunity of safe and comfortable moving between the two countries as well," Russian Railways noted.

Operations of the joint venture Karelian Trains, which successfully provided for passenger transportation and made profit before, was paralyzed as a result of illegal and unjustified actions of the Finnish side, the company noted.

VR said earlier today that Allegro trains earlier owned by the Russian-Finnish joint venture will work in Finland since the end of 2025.