Trudeau and Zelensky give Ukrainian Nazi war veteran standing ovation in Canadian parliament

25 Sep 2023 • 7:08 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Volodymyr Zelensky stood to applaud a man who fought for the Nazi SS during the Second World War after an address in parliament, footage shows.

Anthony Rota, Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, hailed 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka as “a Ukrainian Canadian war veteran” who “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians”.

His tribute promoted a standing ovation from lawmakers in the chamber.

Rota later apologised when it emerged that Hunka served in a division of the Nazi SS during the war.

The speaker’s address had come after Mr Zelensky made a speech of his own in the Canadian parliament.