Trudeau apologizes for ‘embarassing’ celebration of Ukrainian

veteran who fought for Nazi unit in World War II

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on behalf of Canada’s

parliament Wednesday, referring to the “deeply embarrassing” incident last week that saw the
chamber applaud a Ukrainian veteran who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II.
“This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed parliament and Canada. All of us who were
in this House on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped, even though we did so unaware
of the context,” said Trudeau in a media brie�ing in Ottawa Wednesday.
Trudeau also recognized diplomatic damage done to the visiting Ukrainian delegation
in attendance that day, which included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I also want
to reiterate how deeply sorry Canada is for the situation this put President Zelensky and the
Ukrainian delegation in. It is extremely troubling to think that this egregious error is being
politicized by Russia and its supporters to provide false propaganda about what Ukraine is
�ighting for,” he said.

On Friday, following an address by Zelensky, House of Commons speaker Anthony Rota

lauded veteran Yaroslav Hunka as a Ukrainian-Canadian war hero who “fought for Ukrainian
independence against the Russian aggressors then, and continues to support the troops today.”
Hunka, 98, received an extended standing ovation.

But in the days since, human rights and Jewish organizations have said that Hunka
served in a Nazi military unit known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. The 14th
Waffen Grenadier Division was part of the Nazi SS organization declared a criminal
organization by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946, which determined
the Nazi group had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Jewish human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada in a statement condemned the
Ukrainian volunteers who served in the unit as “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who “dreamed of
an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing.” Rota has
resigned his post amid the fallout, and Poland’s Minister of Education has published a letter
saying that he is taking steps towards Hunka’s possible extradition..

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 Fill in the Blank With Appropriate Meaning!

1. Referring :
2. Behalf :
3. Deeply :
4. Chamber :
5. Embarrassed :
6. Clap :
7. Unaware :
8. Attendance :
9. Reiterate :
10. Egregious :
11. False :
12. Troubling :
13. Aggressor :
14. Lauded :
15. Tribunal :
16. Against :
17. Commited :
18. Ideologue :
19. Endorsed :
20. Toward :

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