Russia Has No Illusions Over Potential Hunka Extradition as Canada Likely to Stall
04:41 GMT 29.09.2023 (Updated: 05:34 GMT 29.09.2023)
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russia has no illusions about the prospects for the extradition of Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka, as Canada will certainly drag out the process until his death, Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told Sputnik on Thursday.
"We understand, we do not have any illusions here, that this Hunka - even if the Poles, NATO allies of Canada demand extradition, if our relevant authorities also bring up the appropriate case and presentation for his extradition to Russia for his crimes against citizens of the USSR and citizens of Russia," Stepanov said.
"Unfortunately, I’m sure that the Canadian authorities will launch such a long bureaucratic process that this 98-year-old SS-man will simply be allowed to quietly pass on to another world here. In order not to recognize his real crime on a legal level. This is unfortunately the reality of Canada today."
The ambassador also noted that for many years the Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassy have been working purposefully to bring the problem of these hidden Nazis in Canada to the surface.
26 September 2023, 17:52 GMT
"And all the changing Canadian cabinets, they all avoided interaction on this issue in every possible way," he said, providing Vladimir Katriuk and Helmut Oberlander as two examples of Nazis in Canada. Katriuk and Oberlander both died in Canada.
Stepanov went on to state that the Russian Embassy dispatched a note to the Canadian Foreign Ministry earlier Thursday with an inquiry regarding Canada's next legal steps in relation to Hunka.
"Well, everyone understood that he was a former SS executioner, everyone now knows that he is a Canadian citizen and lives in Canada, everyone seemed to condemn him and half-apologized for his appearance in parliament," Stepanov said.
"But what will be the next step of the Canadian government? Are they going to open, for example, an investigation into his possible crimes against humanity? Or will they all now let this scandal die and just quietly step aside? We, the embassy, won't let this go down."
27 September 2023, 19:19 GMT
Last Friday, the 98-year-old Ukrainian Nazi veteran, who fought in the ranks of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS during World War II, was given a standing ovation by the entire Canadian legislature.
The honoring of Hunka happened as the then-House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota was giving introductory remarks prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to the Canadian parliament.
Russian Embassy in Canada Under Hostile Siege
Shifting gears, Stepanov further stated that Russian diplomats in Canada are performing their duties under a hostile siege by protesters, adding that the overall security situation remains tense.
"The security situation around the embassy remains tense," Stepanov said. "We are taking our own measures to protect our families, our children, but I would say that in comparison with the prosperous climate that the Canadian Embassy in Moscow enjoys, we are under such a hostile siege here."
Stepanov explained that every day since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the embassy has been picketed, with all sorts of ugly actions being organized. In some cases, protesters have also been seen throwing paint on the embassy fence, as well as leaving all sorts of offensive inscriptions on the poles.
"We are being bombarded from tennis guns with colored balls," the envoy added. "In general they behave very badly. We have a kindergarten operating on the territory of the embassy and we detect that some unidentified individuals are trying to take pictures of the faces of our children when minibuses arrive and leave the embassy. The situation is tense. The employees are all trained and competent."
20 September 2022, 06:06 GMT
Stepanov shared that the embassy is constantly engaged in the difficult dialogue with counterparts, detailing that the Canadian side must comply with its obligations under the Vienna Convention and take more preventive and active measures to protect foreign diplomats on its territory.
"In this context, I would like to note that we do not and never have had a permanent Canadian police presence near our embassy," he said.
"That is, any attacker who would like to arrange something terrible is free in his actions. The police, as we calculated from previous incidents, arrive no earlier than three to 11 minutes. Three minutes is the best. And when I talked with my Canadian colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I told them that any villain can commit an action and hide, because the police will arrive in 3-11 minutes, and then everyone will have to deal with the consequences later."
Stepanov also shared with Sputnik that earlier in the day, after the request from the Russian Embassy, a "laser show" on the diplomatic mission building was also banned.
