WASHINGTON, Sept 25 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that neither he nor the delegation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were aware of the invitation to the country’s parliament and the honoring plans for elderly Ukrainian SS officer Yaroslav Hunka, who was invited by Speaker of the House Anthony Rota. Trudeau did not take responsibility for the scandal or apologize but commended Rota’s apology. “He did the right thing. The Prime Minister’s office and the Ukrainian delegation were not informed in advance about the invitation or the honoring,” Trudeau said in his first response to the incident on Friday. Trudeau affirmed that Canada will continue to support a “free Ukraine” and was proud to host Zelensky. Among the invitees to the parliamentary session in honor of Zelensky was 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who was presented by the Speaker of the House to applause as a “fighter for Ukrainian independence against the Russians during World War II.” However, upon further investigation, it was revealed that Hunka was a former member of the “Galicia” volunteer division of the SS forces, which consisted of Ukrainian nationalists and not only fought against the Red Army but also committed atrocities against Jews, Poles, Belarusians, and Slovaks. Speaker of the House Anthony Rota apologized for inviting Hunka to parliament and honoring him. Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, on the other hand, demanded personal apologies from Trudeau for inviting a Nazi. The Canadian branch of the non-governmental organization Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs condemned the honoring of Hunka.
