TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Wednesday for Parliament's recognition of a man who fought on the side of the Nazis in last week's war. speech by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trudeau said that the Speaker of the House of Commons, who resigned Tuesday, was “solely responsible” for the invitation and recognition of the man, but said it was an error that deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada.

“All of us who were in the House on Friday deeply regret standing up and applauding, even if we did so without knowing the context,” Trudeau said before entering the House of Commons. “This was a horrific violation of the memory of the millions who died in the Holocaust, and it was deeply painful for the Jewish people. »

Trudeau repeated his apology in Parliament.

Just after Zelenskyy gave a speech in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a standing ovation when President Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota presented Hunka as a war hero who fought for the Ukrainian First Division.

Over the weekend, observers began publicizing the fact that the Ukrainian First Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or SS 14th Waffen Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command.

“It is extremely disturbing to think that this blatant error is being politicized by Russia and its supporters to spread false propaganda about what Ukraine is fighting for,” Trudeau said.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the standing ovation for Hunka was “scandalous,” and he called it the result of a “sloppy attitude” toward of the memory of the Nazi regime. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his enemies in Ukraine “neo-Nazis,” even though Zelensky is Jewish and a relative lost in the Holocaust.

House Speaker Anthony Rota resigned Tuesday after meeting with House party leaders and following all major discussions. opposition parties called on him to resign.

Government House Leader Karina Gould said Rota invited and recognized Hunka without informing the government or the Ukrainian delegation, and that his lack of due diligence broke lawmakers' trust.

In his earlier apology on Sunday, Rota said he was solely responsible for inviting and recognizing Hunka, who hails from the district Rota represents. The president's office said it was Hunka's son who contacted the local office in Rota to see if it was possible for him to attend Zelensky's speech.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies called the incident “a stain on our nation's venerable legislature, with profound implications both in Canada and around the world.”