"The Prime Minister’s 'apology,' which we heard today in the House of Commons, is not an apology. And it is not enough," Stepanov said on Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, Trudeau apologized on behalf of the House of Commons to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his delegation for the position they were put in by giving a standing ovation to Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka at the Canadian parliament.
The apology came in response to a question by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on whether Trudeau would take personal responsibility and apologize on his behalf for the global shame brought upon Canada.
"I strongly believe that despite deep disagreements between Moscow and Ottawa on the current geopolitical situation, the government and the Parliament of Canada must find courage to apologize directly to all Russians and the Russian-Canadian community for the disgraceful incident the whole world was watching on September 22," Stepanov said.
27 September 2023, 19:19 GMT
The ambassador emphasized that Russia was the main force in defeating Nazi Germany during World War II and experienced devastating losses to achieve victory.
"Eleven million military personnel fell on the battlefields and 16 million civilians died due to the ethnic purges under the Nazi occupation at the hands of the SS, including the notorious 14th Division of the SS 'Galicia,' the death squads (Einsatzgruppen) and Nazi collaborators," Stepanov said.
"Imagine - this is the combined current population of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia provinces!"
Stepanov also noted that there are more than 200,000 Canadians of Russian descent.
"All of them are legal citizens, loyal voters and taxpayers," he said. "Every Russian family, including Russian Canadians, lost at least one relative in combating Nazism."
Trudeau also said on Wednesday that honoring the Ukrainian Nazi veteran was deeply embarrassing for the Canadian parliament and the country, but that the scandal would not affect Ottawa's ongoing support for Kiev.
The Russian diplomat further revealed that Russia may launch a criminal case against Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka and seek his extradition from Canada. “Russia is reviewing the Hunka story. May open criminal case and subsequent extradition request,” the embassy quoted Stepanov as saying.