OTTAWA, June 10. /TASS/. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to seize the Russian-owned An-124 (Antonov) cargo aircraft and hand it over to Ukraine is illegal and a typical theft, Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told TASS on Saturday.

"It is absolutely illegal. It is theft. It is robbery. The Trudeau regime has shown that there is no rule of law in Canada," the diplomat said.

Reuters reported earlier in the day that Trudeau, who is in Kiev on a surprise visit, announced that Canada was seizing a Russian-owned An-124 and starting the process of forfeiting the aircraft to Ukraine.

An An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft, owned by Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Airlines and chartered by the Canadian government, arrived in Toronto on February 27, 2022, carrying a cargo of Covid tests from China. The aircraft had landed two hours before Canada closed its airspace to Russian aircraft over the Ukraine crisis. Despite the fact, the flight was delayed and the crew were accommodated at a hotel. Later the crew flew back to Russia.