Justin Trudeau lashed after ’blaming’ Ukrainian Nazi incident on ’Russian disinformation’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been slammed online after appearing to blame “Russian disinformation“ for an incident that saw a Ukrainian man who served in a Nazi unit during World War II receive a standing ovation in parliament. On Monday, September 25, Canada’s House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota issued an apology to the chamber. Mr Rota had previously praised 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka as a “Ukrainian hero“ during a parliamentary meeting on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and PM Trudeau were both present in the chamber. Hunka had served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi unit, during WWII, according to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center. Speaker Rota took full responsibility for the oversight, acknowledging to parliament that it was entirely his own initiative. Prime Minister Trudeau confronted the media on Monday over the “deeply embarrassing“ blunder. “It’s extremely upsetting that this happened. The Speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologized,“ Mr Trudeau said. “But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians. “I think it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast unequivocal support for Ukraine.“