Is it true that in the Parliament of Canada a standing up to the former SSSOS from Ukraine?

In September 2023, the news dispersed on news resources about how Canadian deputies, along with their Prime Minister and President of Ukraine, applauded the Veteran of the Galicia division. We checked the veracity of such publications.

As reported in the media and social networks, on September 22, during a visit to the Canadian parliament, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the presence of his colleague Justin Trudeau greeted the applause of the 98-year-old Ukrainian SS, Yaroslav Gunka, who has been living in North America for many years. In the news publications, it was noted that the former participant in the SS division of Galicia was also awarded from the deputies - according to the assumption of some resources, because he fought against the Russians.

Many pro -Russian resources, such as TV channel "wrote about this case"Tsargrad","Ren-TV" And RT. The news was widespread in Telegram - in particular, in the channels Readovka (1.1 million views at the time of writing this analysis), "Before everyone else. Well, almost"(537 000),"Pool N3"(510 000),"Caution, news"(497 000),"Kornilov"(464 000),"Operation Z: Warrixes of Russian Spring"(454,000) and"Solovyov"(314 000).

September 21-22, 2023 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, together with the first lady on a working visit I visited Canada. In the program of the trip were declared Negotiations with the country's prime minister Justin Trudeau about cooperation in the military and economic spheres, as well as meetings with representatives of the public, business and Ukrainian diaspora. On September 22, a solemn meeting of the Parliament of Canada took place, at which Zelensky spoke to the lawmakers with speech. Upon its completion, the speaker of the House of Communities Anthony Roth declared:

Today in the hall there is a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of the Second World War, who fought for the independence of Ukraine against the Russians and continues to support troops today, even at the age of 98. His name is Yaroslav Gunka. <...> He is the Hero of Ukraine and the Hero of Canada, and we thank him for his entire service. Thank you!

All those present, including Zelensky and Trudeau, standing applauded Veteran.

Soon a scandal flared up. Readers of the Associated Press noticed that under photography The celebration of Yaroslav Gunki in the Canadian parliament says that in the Second World War he served in the 1st Ukrainian division. This subdivision, until April 1945, known as the 14th Volunteer Infantry Division of the SS "Galicia" ("Galicia"), is suspected of the mass murder of Poles and Jews during the war years. In 2016, the Diet of Poland qualified As a genocide for the action of division fighters in relation to the peaceful Polish population of a number of villages in the historical region, Galicia. After the surrender of Nazi Germany, the former Galicia fighters were kept in prisoners of war camps, and in 1947, after liberation, most veterans moved In Canada, USA and Great Britain. In 1984, the famous "Nazis hunter" Simon Vizenthal introduced A list of 217 Galicia veterans, which, according to him, lived outside Europe. The Canadian authorities conducted their own investigation and found out that 187 of them had never stepped on Canadian land, 11 died in the country, two moved, one disappeared, and out of the 16 healthy residents of Canada, participation in military crimes, which accused of “Galichin”, no one took - at least this was not proven.

And if in Canada Yaroslav Gunka is not very well known, then in their homeland they are better aware of his activities. Gunka - Honorary Citizen Berezhan (Ternopil region), and the official website of the city says that in September 1943 he joined the ranks of Galicia, in 1954 he moved to Canada, and after gaining independence, he was engaged in philanthropy.

September 24, Canadian Center for the Study of the Holocaust "Friends of Simon Vizenthal"Published a statement in which he expressed indignation at the honesty of the former SS soldier:" The fact that the veteran who served in the Nazi military unit was invited to parliament and applauded to him standing, shocking. " The next day, the Polish ambassador to Ottawa Vitold Dzelsky, recalling that, according to Warsaw, the SS division “Galicia” is responsible for the murder of thousands of Poles and Jews, said: “Although Poland and the best ally of Ukraine, she will never agree with the imposition of such villains. As an ambassador of Poland to Canada, I expect an apology. ” They did not fail to reproach Justin Trudeau in Russophobia and abuse of victims of Nazism and in Russian Mide.

Prime Minister himself He called it The shame for Canada, representatives of the opposition conservative party in parliament Demanded Explanations from political opponents. The speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rete had to apologize for the situation, who invited Gunka to a solemn meeting. He declaredthat he did not know anything about the Nazi past of the Ukrainian, living in the constituency of the company. Moreover, no one, including his colleagues in parliament and members of the Ukrainian delegation, knew about the speaker’s intention to present a veteran in parliament. The company addressed a special apology to the Jewish communities of Canada and the whole world, taking all responsibility for the mistake. The Canadian Jewish group “Center for Israeli and Jews” thanked the politician for apologies, but emphasized the need to conduct careful checks in order to avoid repetitions of the incident.

Thus, unlike many casesWhen false information about the Nazism allegedly reviving in the West was distributed in Russian-speaking media and social networks, the episode in the Canadian parliament occurred in reality-apparently, due to the mistake of the speaker of the House of Commons.

Photo on the cover: screenshot CBS News

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