---
title: "Aeroflot on Sale: How Sanctions Force Russia to Dump Assets with Billions in Losses"
description: "Russia is forced to sell nearly a quarter of Aeroflot's shares at a loss of $170 million. Sanctions and a shortage of spare parts have turned the aviation giant into a problematic asset, which is now being shifted onto the shoulders of loyal banks and oligarchs. 📉✈️🇷🇺"
date: 2026-05-27T20:22:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/russia-sells-aeroflot-shares-at-a-loss
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Aeroflot on Sale: How Sanctions Force Russia to Dump Assets with Billions in Losses

![Aeroflot airline plane in flight against the sky](https://xab.info/media/2026/05/27/rossiya-prodaet-aktsii-aeroflota-s-ubytokmi/aeroflot-samolyot-v-polete.webp)

The Russian Federation is preparing for one of the most painful deals in recent years: the forced sale of a large stake in Aeroflot. The operation, initiated by the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimущество), is set to be another proof of how harsh international restrictions are suffocating the national economy. Instead of profit, the budget is about to take a hit in the form of colossal financial losses.

### The Math of Losing

The authorities plan to sell 23.76% of the shares of the country's largest airline. This is not just the sale of assets; it is the liquidation of part of a strategic resource at dumping prices. If in 2020, when the National Welfare Fund bought these securities, the price was $0.84 per share, today the market valuation has plummeted to $0.66.

The price difference may seem insignificant at first glance, but on the scale of the deal, which covers more than 944 million shares, it turns into a loss for the treasury of $170 million. The state, retaining a controlling stake (about 50% versus the current 73.8%), in fact admits that it cannot maintain this asset in its previous volume.

### Crisis in the Sky

The drop in share value is just the tip of the iceberg. The real problem of Aeroflot lies in its operational activities. Russian civil aviation has found itself in a deep crisis due to isolation from Western technologies. A shortage of spare parts, the inability to legally service the fleet, and the rapid aging of aircraft are turning the carrier into a "money pit".

Increasing maintenance costs and the need to find workarounds for repairing equipment make the asset extremely unattractive to investors. In conditions where the aircraft fleet requires colossal investments, and revenues are falling, the sale of shares becomes a way to shift part of the financial burden onto the shoulders of private players.

### Who Will Buy Aeroflot?

The situation in the buyers' market looks depressing. Due to total sanctions, international capital has practically closed this asset to itself. Experts agree that the main contenders for the share package will be only structures loyal to the state: internal state banks or business groups tightly linked to the Kremlin. The only exception could be individual investors from Asia or the Middle East, but their interest in a problematic Russian asset remains questionable.

This deal becomes a bright marker of Moscow's economic reality: attracting foreign capital is becoming impossible, and internal resources are being exhausted. The sale of Aeroflot at a loss is a forced measure, demonstrating how sanctions are transforming the structure of the Russian economy, forcing the state to sell off strategic assets just to keep them afloat.