LEV GOLINKIN, golinkin@gmail.com
Golinkin broke the story “Zelenskyy joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to 98-year-old veteran who fought with Nazis” for the Jewish Forward — though there had been some information on X/Twitter before any outlet published the story. Golinkin is able to comment on this story as it develops. He is the author of A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, a memoir of Soviet Ukraine. He left Soviet Ukraine as a child refugee.
His recent piece notes: “The Canadian Parliament gave a standing ovation on Friday to a 98-year-old immigrant from Ukraine who fought in a Third Reich military formation accused of war crimes.
“The elderly veteran, Yaroslav Hunka was honored during a session in which President Volodomyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine addressed the lawmakers to thank them for their support since Russia invaded his country, saying Canada has always been on ‘the bright side of history.’ The Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota — who had compared Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill — recognized a ‘veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98.’
“The assembly then rose to applaud a man in a khaki uniform standing on the balcony, who saluted. …
“The man was identified as Hunka by the Associated Press, which published a photograph showing Zelenskyy smiling and raising a fist during the ovation.
“The AP caption described Hunka as having ‘fought with the First Ukrainian Division in World War II before later immigrating to Canada.’ The First Ukrainian Division is another name for the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, the military wing of the Nazi Party; the unit was also called SS Galichina.
“This is the same unit that is honored by controversial monuments in Canada, Australia, and, as the Forward recently exposed, the suburbs of Philadelphia and Detroit. Jewish groups have called for their removal.”
Golinkin past pieces include “The Western Media Is Whitewashing the Azov Battalion.”