Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Independent TV

Showing now | News

Trudeau and Canada's House of Commons applaud a Nazi during parliament sitting

01:42

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

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.

Up next

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in