MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. Being applauded to in the Canadian parliament would be worse than being included in the Canadian sanctions list, President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Filatov told TASS.

Previously, Canadian authorities included 10 Russian nationals, including Filatov, and 153 legal entities to the sanctions list.

"Worse than the inclusion of the Canadian authorities in the sanctions list would be the applause in their Parliament," Filatov said, answering a question about his inclusion to the list.

On September 22, 2023, 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.".