Russia's Transport Ministry has drafted a government resolution that would extend the operating life of foreign-built aircraft held by domestic carriers until 2028, according to reports citing the draft document. The measure is the latest step in Moscow's effort to keep its civil aviation sector functioning despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and it signals that the Kremlin expects the legal and logistical limbo surrounding hundreds of leased jets to persist for years rather than months.

The background to the draft is by now familiar to anyone following the aviation fallout from the war. Following the imposition of sanctions, Western lessors were ordered to terminate leases with Russian operators and recover their assets. Moscow responded by passing legislation permitting the re-registration of foreign aircraft on the Russian register, effectively allowing airlines such as Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines and Rossiya to keep flying Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies and widebodies that remain legally owned by foreign leasing companies. Bermuda and Ireland, the two jurisdictions where most of these aircraft had been registered, withdrew their oversight, leaving Russian authorities to certify airworthiness themselves.

The new resolution would formalise and extend that arrangement. Rather than treating re-registration as an emergency expedient, the draft would establish a legal basis for continued operation of the disputed fleet through 2028, giving carriers and maintenance organisations a longer planning horizon. That matters because Russia's domestic aviation market depends heavily on these aircraft: Western types make up the overwhelming majority of the active commercial fleet, and domestic production of replacements under the MC-21 and Superjet programmes has been slowed by sanctions on components and Western supplier withdrawals.

The key facts are these. The resolution is a draft, meaning it still requires formal government approval before taking effect. It would cover aircraft operated under leases that were disrupted by sanctions, allowing continued domestic and limited international operation under Russian registration. It does not resolve ownership: the aircraft remain the property of foreign lessors, many of whom have written down or insurance-settled their exposure. Nor does it address the fundamental airworthiness question, since the jets are being maintained under a Russian certification regime that Western regulators do not recognise, and access to OEM parts, manuals and software updates is restricted.

The industry implications are considerable. For lessors and their insurers, the draft reinforces the reality that recovery of assets is unlikely in the near term and that any settlement will be financial rather than physical. Several major lessors have already taken insurance payouts and transferred claims to insurers, who are now pursuing complex litigation in London and elsewhere. A formal Russian decision to keep the aircraft flying until 2028 strengthens the argument that the assets are effectively lost, which could accelerate settlement talks even as it complicates subrogation claims.

For Russia's airlines, the extension offers breathing space but not a solution. Continued operation of Western aircraft without OEM support raises long-term safety and reliability questions, and cannibalisation of parts from grounded airframes has become a familiar workaround. The fleet will also face mounting maintenance checks that Russian MROs may struggle to complete to the standard required for international operations, limiting the carriers largely to domestic and friendly-state routes.

For the broader aviation market, the move underscores how sanctions have fragmented global aircraft finance. Lessors now price in geopolitical risk more aggressively, and the principle that aircraft can be re-registered by a state against a lessor's wishes has unsettled confidence in cross-border leasing. Western manufacturers, meanwhile, have lost a significant customer base for years to come.

Outlook. The draft resolution is best read as an admission that no near-term resolution is in sight. By pushing the horizon to 2028, Moscow is buying time for its domestic industry while accepting that the disputed fleet will remain outside the Western regulatory and leasing system. Expect continued legal battles over insurance claims, piecemeal settlements with individual lessors, and a gradual thinning of Russia's Western-built fleet as maintenance realities bite. The 2028 date is less a solution than a forecast of how long the standoff may last.