“Ukraine – Russia”

When Canada’s parliament praised a Ukrainian war veteran who fought with Nazi Germany, a renewed spotlight was put on a controversial part of Ukraine’s history and its memorialisation in Canada.

Yaroslav Hunka, the Ukrainian veteran who was applauded in parliament this week, served with a Nazi unit called the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS – also known as the Galicia Division – that was formed in 1943.

His appearance was criticised by Jewish groups and other parliamentarians alike. MP Anthony Rota, who invited him, has since resigned as the Speaker of the House of Commons, saying he deeply regretted the mistake.

Also … Nazis in Canada? The truth behind the demonization of Yaroslav Hunka

I don’t know Yaroslav Hunka personally, but I know… or knew… many like him. Most of them are dead, now. I know their stories. And I know where their bodies are buried.

Mr Hunka is a Canadian citizen, who lives near North Bay, Ontario. More specifically, he is a Ukrainian-Canadian, born 98 years ago in what was then a part of Poland known to some as “Galicia”, but to its natives as Ukraine.

The president of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada is defending a Second World War veteran of a Nazi unit who was recently lauded as a hero in Canada’s Parliament.

Jurij Klufas has not met 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka but says the veteran is being treated unfairly. He says Hunka was fighting for Ukraine – not Germany – and that countries, including Canada, have cleared his division of war crimes.

Since he was celebrated in Parliament, kicking off a political firestorm in Ottawa and outrage around the world, the public has heard nothing from Yaroslav Hunka, the 98-year-old who served in a Nazi unit during the Second World War.

But a dozen years ago, Mr. Hunka wrote an essay about his time in the Waffen-SS Galicia Division for an American online magazine focused on Ukrainian war veterans – a piece that provides some insight into what he says were his reasons for enlisting.

While I wish I’d thought of it first, the best description of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s performance over the past few days during Canada’s global diplomatic disaster, goes to former Conservative senator Linda Frum, who tweeted on ‘X’:

“Have a look: on Friday Trudeau and his deputy PM were thrilled to use @ZelenskyyUa visit to mount an election-style rally w/ Toronto’s Ukrainian community. When there was glory to be had, it belonged to them. The mess that’s left behind belongs to Canada.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked to personally apologize for the embarrassment he caused to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week — instead, he apologized for all parliamentarians.

The University of Alberta is returning a $30,000 donation it received from the family of Yaroslav Hunka, saying it regrets any harm it may have caused by accepting the endowment in his name.

“The university recognizes and regrets the unintended harm caused,” Verna Yiu, interim provost and vice-president of the university, said in a statement.

“On behalf of the university, I want to express our commitment to address anti-Semitism in any of its manifestations, including the ways in which the Holocaust continues to resonate in the present.”

An Oakville cemetery is once again facing calls to remove a monument that pays tribute to a Ukrainian unit that was recently thrust into the spotlight when controversy erupted over a decision to honour one of its veterans in the House of Commons.

The monument in question is located within West Oak Memorial Gardens, a 100-acre cemetery at 1280 Dundas St. W. that is owned and operated by St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery. In 1988, a large statue commemorating what is known as the First Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army was erected at the burial ground, which is the largest Ukrainian cemetery in Canada.

You remove the monument you had better ensure Freeland is gone as well as her background is looking sketchier than Hunka’s.

Look at Chrystia Freeland’s nervous hand squeezin’ when she’s asked about investigating Canadians who fought alongside Nazis. pic.twitter.com/qkVYlk4vMm

— golden pup (@Golden_Pup) September 27, 2023

MPs expected to dig deeper on how war vet who fought with Nazis ended up in the House