MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. The Russian State Duma has issued a statement condemning the presence of Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian nationalist who served in the 1st Ukrainian Division, also known as the SS Galician Division, in the Canadian parliament, calling it another step towards rewriting history.

The deputies "express extreme indignation in connection with the cynical insult to the memory of soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition, committed during a meeting of the House of Commons of the Canadian parliament on September 22, 2023," the statement said.

The Duma pointed out that "Canadian lawmakers found it possible to welcome with applause in the walls of the Canadian Parliament a Nazi veteran - Yaroslav Hunka, 98, who served the bloody Third Reich during World War II." "This bacchanalia was timed to coincide with the reception by the Canadian authorities of the ideological heir of the collaborator Yaroslav Hunka, the leader of the current Ukrainian regime Vladimir Zelensky, who is making another world tour to collect funds for the bloodbath into which he dragged the Ukrainian people," the statement said. It is specified that "the pro-fascist ceremony was shamelessly broadcast in the Canadian" media.

"The State Duma deputies consider the shocking event not as an accident, but as another step in the purposefully calibrated course of Canada and the West as a whole to rewrite history to suit the political environment," the statement noted.

Russian lawmakers recalled that "over 45,000 Canadian citizens died during World War II." "They (the Canadian lawmakers - TASS) grossly violated international law by attempting to whitewash war criminals, sadists and murderers, in particular Ukrainian members of the SS forces responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Soviet Union, Poland, Slovakia and other countries. The Nuremberg Tribunal unequivocally condemned their crimes, which have no statute of limitations. Such actions aimed at glorifying Nazism in the legislative bodies of power also deserve to be considered in court," the State Duma said.

The deputies emphasize that they are "ready for constructive cooperation with all fellow parliamentarians" who share anti-fascist views and convictions, are ready "with all determination to oppose such attempts to glorify Ukrainian Nazis and other Nazis of all stripes and their henchmen, to fight against the planting of hostility between peoples, racism, neo-fascism, Russophobia and other anti-human phobias" and to speak out in defense of historical memory.

Situation in Canadian parliament

Earlier, the Associated Press agency published photos showing that during the speech of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in the Canadian Parliament on September 22, the audience greeted Hunka, 98, who served during World War II in the 1st Ukrainian Division, also known as the SS Galician Division. Speaker of the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament Anthony Rota earlier apologized for inviting the Ukrainian Nazi. He stressed that it was his initiative, of which the deputies and the Ukrainian delegation were allegedly unaware. The Office of the Canadian Prime Minister blamed the speaker for the incident.