The Kremlin on Wednesday demanded the trial of a former Ukrainian soldier who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II but was singled out in Canada’s parliament last week, prompting an investigation in Poland into possible extradition.

“The Canadian authorities have an obligation to prosecute or hand over this criminal to those who want justice. It is clear that we are talking about a Nazi,” said Dmytro Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, AFP and Agerpres report.

The Kremlin also called the resignation of Canadian House of Commons Speaker Anthony Roth an insufficient measure after the entire parliament applauded the former Nazi soldier, Reuters reported.

Dmytro Peskov emphasized that the Canadian Parliament should publicly condemn Nazism.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s visit to Ottawa last week, Anthony Rota introduced 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant Yaroslav Hunka during a ceremony in the House of Commons as a “Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran who fought for Ukraine’s independence against the Russians” and “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero.”

However, the claims “ignore the fact that Hunka served in the 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS, a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well documented,” Canadian Jewish advocacy group the Simon Friends Center said. , condemned on Sunday Wiesenthal (FSWC), who apologized.

Anthony Rota announced his resignation on Tuesday following the scandal caused by the situation.

The scandal is widely commented on by the authorities and official Russian media, which present the offensive against Ukraine as a fight against the alleged neo-Nazis in power, who are supported by the West.

Poland’s education minister announced Tuesday night that he has requested an investigation into whether a Ukrainian Nazi-fighting veteran honored in Canada’s parliament committed crimes in Poland, with a view to his possible extradition.

“Given the scandalous events that took place in the Canadian Parliament (…), we have taken measures for the possible extradition of this person to Poland,” wrote Przemysław Czarnek on X (old Twitter).

In a letter also published on X, the minister asked the president of the IPN Institute of National Remembrance, which is responsible for investigating Nazi and communist crimes, to “urgently check the documents to see if Yaroslav Hunka is wanted for crimes against the Polish people and Poles.” of Jewish origin”, the signs of these crimes are grounds for requesting his extradition.

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