Western sanctions caused Russia to lose 76 civilian aircraft last year, says minister

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said on Saturday that Western sanctions caused the country to lose 76 civilian aircraft in 2022.

Savelyev said at the opening of the "Russia in Motion" exposition in Moscow, "We were caught off guard by the decisions to pick up the planes. In total, we lost 76 passenger aircraft."

Sanctions against the Russian aviation industry were imposed after the start of the Russian "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.

In particular, the US and EU banned the supply of aircraft and components to the Russian Federation, as well as required companies to return already leased aircraft, which, according to Bloomberg, accounted for up to 40% of the Russian fleet.

As a result, foreign vessels of Russian airlines were detained in a number of countries around the world.