Yaroslav Hunka was born in Urman,[1] Second Polish Republic (now Ukraine) c. 1925.[5] In 1943, Hunka volunteered to join the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician).[a] During his time in SS Galizien, he was photographed training in Munich and Neuhammer (present day Świętoszów).[6] In 1944, Hunka was deployed into combat against Red Army forces on the Eastern Front of World War II.[7]
Following the conclusion of World War II in Europe, Hunka settled in the United Kingdom and joined the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.[8] In 1951, he married Margaret Ann Edgerton (1931–2018), and the couple emigrated to Canada three years later, settling in Toronto, where they raised their two sons, Martin and Peter, and became active in the Ukrainian-Canadian community.[9][8] After graduating from a technical college, Hunka worked in the aircraft industry, eventually becoming an inspector for De Havilland.[8]
In Canada, Hunka remained active in Waffen SS veterans circles and maintained a blog on the Internet where, in the early 2010s, he compared veterans of SS Galizien to the Israelites,[6] arguing that both groups were spread in worldwide diasporas from their homeland and could only return after several years of exile.[10][non-primary source needed] As of 2022, Hunka lived in North Bay, Ontario, and travelled to Greater Sudbury to protest against that year's Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11] Describing the situation in Ukraine, Hunka told CTV News that the "Destruction is just unbelievable but it will take years and years to rebuild it, ... But Ukrainians will win and God Bless Ukraine and I pray for it."[11]
大佬, 好難幫得落喎, 不過可以就咁告hate speech嘅