The Canadian parliament’s standing ovations for a Ukrainian war veteran who served in one of Adolf Hitler’s Waffen SS regiments on Thursday were criticized by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “disgusting” and as evidence that Moscow was correct to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

The speaker of the Canadian House of Commons lauded a Nazi veteran in the chamber while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was present, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month issued a formal apology.

The episode played into the narrative promoted by Putin that he sent his army into Ukraine last year to “demilitarise and denazify” the country. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia’s actions constitute an unprovoked war of aggression designed to grab territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is Jewish, says Moscow’s claims that his administration is run by Nazis are absurd.