The Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons apologized Sunday for paying tribute to a man who fought in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War.

Shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation as House Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota presented Hunka as a war hero who fought in the Ukrainian First Division.

“In my speech after the Ukrainian President’s speech, I honored a person on the stage. I subsequently became aware of more information that makes me regret my decision to do so,” Rota said in a statement.

He added that his parliamentary colleagues and the Ukrainian delegation were not aware of his plan to recognize Hunka. Rota noted that Hunka was from his district.

“I would like to extend my sincere apologies to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” Rota said.

Hunka could not immediately be reached for comment.

Canadian lawmakers applauded and Zelenskyy raised his fist in recognition as Hunka saluted from the podium to two separate rounds of applause. Rota called him “a Ukrainian and Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service.”

Zelensky traveled to Ottawa to try to shore up his Western allies’ support for Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.

Vladimir Putin has described his enemies in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis,” even though Zelensky is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said in a statement that Rota apologized and accepted full responsibility for Hunka’s invitation and acknowledgment in Parliament.

“It was the right thing to do,” the statement said. “Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the Ukrainian delegation were informed in advance of the invitation or recognition. »

The First Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the 14th Waffen SS Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command.

The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies released a statement Sunday emphasizing that the division “was responsible for the massacre of innocent civilians with an unimaginable level of brutality and viciousness.”

“An apology is owed to all Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans who fought against the Nazis, and an explanation must be given as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of the Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the president of the Camera and a standing ovation,” the press release said.