Ottawa - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a formal apology on Wednesday in response to an incident where the speaker of the House of Commons had commended a Nazi veteran in the chamber while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was present.

Trudeau also mentioned that Ottawa had already made diplomatic contact with Kyiv and President Zelenskiy to offer an apology.

The speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, who had publicly acknowledged veteran Yaroslav Hunka in the House the previous Friday and referred to him as a hero, resigned from his position as speaker on Tuesday, taking sole responsibility for the incident. Hunka, aged 98, was a Ukrainian of Polish origin who had served in one of Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS units during World War Two before immigrating to Canada.

Russia has used this incident to support its claim that the conflict in Ukraine aims to "denazify" the country, a charge that Kyiv and Western allies dismiss as unfounded.

Trudeau addressed the House on Wednesday, expressing unreserved apologies on behalf of all members for the events of that Friday and the uncomfortable position it had placed President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian delegation in. He acknowledged that recognizing this individual had been a significant error, one that disrespected the memory of those who had suffered greatly under the Nazi regime.

In earlier remarks to the media, Trudeau expressed his concern that Russia and its supporters were exploiting this serious mistake for false propaganda about Ukraine's goals. He emphasized that the incident had no connection to the vetting process for speaker-invited guests and that Hunka resided in Rota's parliamentary constituency.

The official opposition, the Conservatives, held Trudeau accountable for the incident, given his invitation to President Zelenskiy to address the Canadian parliament, and accused him of negligence.