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.
In a statement, Mr Rota said that on 22 September “in my remarks following the address of the president of Ukraine, I recognised an individual in the gallery.
“I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so.”
The speaker’s address had come after Mr Zelensky made a speech of his own in the Canadian parliament.
The Canadian Jewish group CIJA said it was “deeply troubled” that a Nazi veteran had been celebrated, and said “proper vetting is imperative to ensure such an unacceptable incident does not occur again”.
The incident came shortly after Mr Zelensky delivered a passionate speech to the Canadian parliament to bolster support from his Western allies.
