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Moscow may request the extradition of Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of the Waffen SS, Russia’s envoy to Ottawa, Oleg Stepanov, suggested on Wednesday.
“Russia is reviewing the Hunka story. May open a criminal case and subsequent extradition request,” the diplomat said in a statement.
The remarks come amid the fallout of Hunka’s appearance at Canada’s House of Commons, where he was touted as a Ukrainian “hero” who purportedly “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians.”
The veteran – who fought for the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the 1st Galician Division, formed by Nazi Germany from mostly western Ukrainians during WWII and known to have committed atrocities against Jews and Poles – received a standing ovation at parliament, with PM Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in attendance.
The controversial honoring of the Nazi veteran triggered a major political meltdown in Canada and sparked anger in multiple other countries. Thus far, the scandal has led to the downfall of now-former House Speaker Anthony Rota, who resigned on Tuesday while expressing “profound regret” for his “error” to host Hunka at the legislature.
Canada’s PM apologized for the Hunka debacle on Wednesday, yet shifted the blame onto parliament’s now-former Speaker for inviting the Nazi veteran. The whole scene was “deeply embarrassing for parliament and Canada,” Trudeau stated, as he offered “parliament’s unreserved apologies for what happened on Friday.”
“The speaker was solely responsible for the invitation and recognition of this man, and has wholly accepted that responsibility and stepped down,” Trudeau stated.
Apart from Russia, Poland, which has been among the top backers of modern-day Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, has also urged a probe into potential war crimes committed by Hunka.
On Tuesday, Polish Minister of Education Przemyslaw Czarnek said he had “taken steps towards the possible extradition … in view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament.” The minister also called upon Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance to “urgently examine the documents whether Yaroslav Hunka is wanted for crimes against the Polish nation and Poles of Jewish origin.”
The SS as a whole was declared a criminal organization by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946, while multiple senior members of the paramilitary group were tried and executed for their atrocities.
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https://www.rt.com/news/583671-russia-canada-nazi-extradition/
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Poland and now Russia?
Bet dudes disappointed he didn’t stay quiet
Interesting fact I discovered about the 14th SS while digging. The Division along with many of the remnants of the Ukrainian Volunteers/Conscripts. Both Wehrmacht and S.S. were due to be handed over to be handed over to the Soviet Union.
But the Commander of the remnants of the Ukrainian Forces in the closing days of the war, Pablo Shandruk, was actually a veteran of both the Imperial Russian Army, Ukrainian National Republican Army (Existed roughly 1918-1920), Polish Army (During this service he was decorated for gallantry during the 1939 invasion), and during 1940-1944 after being released from POW camps. He was apparently active with both the Polish Home Army, and Polish Resistance Networks as a whole. Before he accepted a command of the Remnants of Ukrainian Forces which were hastily reorganized and branded the Ukrainian National Army in the waning days of the war.
Any who. He apparently begged the Free Polish Army Commander, a former colleague and ex-friend, who was also in charge of the internment camps where his men were held. To spare his men deportation to the USSR. For reasons unknown. The Polish commander, for reasons unknown, agreed and apparently managed to pull enough strings, along with unexpected assistance from the Vatican, to get the Ukrainians protection from Deportation as ex-Polish citizens. As the region the bulk of them were from was formerly territory of the 2nd Polish Republic.
I don’t know if it’s actually relevant. Just an extremely interesting train of events as to how that dude ended up in Canada and not a remote mass grave in a Siberian Gulag.
Very interesting... (Arte Johnson voice)