Canadian House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota apologized on Sunday, Sept. 24, after recognizing a Ukrainian veteran who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II. This was after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the House of Commons to bolster support from the Western ally.
Canadian lawmakers offered a standing ovation in honor of Yaroslav Hunka, 98. Rota recognized the man as a war hero who fought for Ukrainian independence against Russia as part of the First Ukrainian Division.
The First Ukrainian Division, also called the SS 14th Waffen Division, was a voluntary unit controlled by the Nazis during World War II that fought the Soviets on the Eastern front.
Jewish human rights organizations, including the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, demanded an apology, adding that Hunka’s division “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”
In a 2022 rally, Vladimir Putin accused his Ukrainian enemies of being neo-Nazis, and insisted that his decision to invade Ukraine was necessary to prevent genocide — an idea that world leaders have rejected.
Russian leaders have claimed that Zelenskyy may be a Nazi, despite Zelenskyy having Jewish heritage and saying his grandfather fought against the Nazis in World War II.
Russian leaders claim that Zelenskyy’s Jewish heritage doesn’t mean he isn’t a Nazi, adding the claim that Adolf Hitler was part Jewish. However, historical experts say these claims are not supported by evidence.
President Zelenskyy said publicly that many of his family members were killed by Nazis during World War II and that accusations that he is a Nazi are baseless.
