The Russian Ambassador said that the Canadian side received a request for the extradition of the Nazi Hunka

On December 19, 2023, the Russian Embassy handed over to the Canadian side a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of 98-year-old Ukrainian nationalist Yaroslav Hunka (Gunka) and is now awaiting a response from the Canadian Ministry of Justice. Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told a TASS correspondent about this.

“ On December 19, 2023, we submitted to  the Canadian Foreign Ministry an appeal from the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation regarding the extradition of Yaroslav Hunka to the Russian side. The note states that the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against him under the article on actions aimed at the complete destruction of an ethnic group. In simple words, this is genocide,” the diplomat said.

Stepanov noted that there is no extradition treaty between Canada and Russia, but there is a mutual legal assistance treaty from 1997.

“It’s a matter of principle. In fact, Gunka himself admitted that he voluntarily joined the SS and, therefore, committed all these crimes in which the “Galicia” division was involved. That is, a Nazi lives here. Will Canadian justice prosecute him here? That is the question,” the ambassador said.

As the diplomat noted, the note stated that the Russian side asks the Canadian Ministry of Justice, after considering the appeal, to provide a response on the results of studying the documents provided.

On Friday, the Ministry of Justice of Canada told TASS that they would not comment on whether the department had received a request from  the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation to extradite Hunka, since such requests are confidential until a court decision. The Ministry of Justice added that extradition from Canada is carried out in accordance with the extradition law, international treaties or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The department clarified that there is no extradition treaty between the Russian Federation and Canada.

Earlier, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation filed charges in absentia against Hunka for genocide of civilians on the territory of Ukraine during the Great Patriotic War. The investigation in the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the  Russian Federation received documentary evidence of the places of deployment and the conduct of hostilities by the SS division “Galicia”, in which Hunka served. The Russian Prosecutor's Office sent a request for his extradition.

Nazi in parliament

On September 22, 2023, during a speech by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in the Canadian Parliament, those gathered welcomed the 98-year-old Ukrainian nationalist Hunka, who served in the SS Galicia division during World War II. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly then called for the resignation of Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota, who took the blame for inviting the Nazi upon himself. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the incident. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the public praise of the Nazi “perfectly characterizes the ruling regime of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” while the Russian side does not intend to “put up with the way Canadian liberals are flirting with Nazism.”

This week, Canadian media also reported that Trudeau’s office, on the recommendation of the Canadian Ukrainian Congress organization, invited Hunka to a gala reception in honor of Zelensky’s arrival, which took place in Toronto in September 2023, but the nationalist himself was allegedly not present. Last September, Trudeau and his entourage claimed that neither they nor the Ukrainian delegation knew who would be invited to parliament, where Zelensky was speaking at the time. Trudeau’s office also claimed that neither the prime minister nor Zelensky met with the nationalist. The Canadian opposition called on the prime minister to resign.

As Stepanov told a TASS correspondent on Friday, Trudeau cannot clearly formulate his position regarding the appearance of a Ukrainian Nazi in the Canadian parliament against the background of internal political struggle. In this regard, it is difficult for Moscow to understand the position of his cabinet, the ambassador noted.