MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has instructed the relevant agencies to coordinate with Belarusian law enforcement bodies to initiate a formal request to Interpol and Canada for the extradition of war criminal Yaroslav Hunka, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"Given the official acknowledgment by the Government of Canada and international organizations of Yaroslav Hunka’s affiliation with war criminals, as a former soldier of the SS Galician Division (14th SS-Volunteer Division ‘Galicia’ - TASS), I hereby instruct that work commence immediately with the law enforcement agencies of Russia and Belarus to draft a formal request to the Canadian authorities, as well as to Interpol, for [Hunka’s] extradition for a public trial," the ministry quoted Shoigu as saying.

The Russian defense chief’s instructions specify that, "the facts of the direct participation of the Nazi Hunka in atrocities against the peaceful Soviet population on the territory of the Lvov Region, at that time the territory of the USSR, including the genocide of Poles and Jews, provide all necessary grounds for demanding his extradition and rendition for prosecution." The ministry noted that such crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations.

"The harboring of this Nazi criminal, or simply put, monster, who has the blood of hundreds if not thousands of our citizens, including children, on his hands, cannot be justified for any reason. Hunka must be held fully responsible for his bloody crimes," the top defense official said.

On September 22, during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's appearance before the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, the audience gave two standing ovations to invited guest Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian emigre who in 1943 had volunteered to serve in the Nazi 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia." On September 26, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly called for the resignation of House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, who had introduced Hunka to the audience, praising him as a war veteran who fought "against the Russians" during World War II. Joly called the incident "absolutely unacceptable" and "a disgrace to the House [of Commons] and to Canadians." Rota subsequently tendered his resignation. On September 27, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized for the incident.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the public praise of the Nazi "epitomizes the ruling regime of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a T," declaring that Russia does not intend to "tolerate the way Canadian liberals flirt with Nazism."