Ukraine's Zelenskiy appoints Canadian ex-deputy PM as economic adviser

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, January 5, he had appointed Canada’s former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland as his economic development adviser, citing her experience in attracting investment.

”Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal resilience – both for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy delivers results as swiftly as possible, and to reinforce our defence if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskiy wrote on X.

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Freeland, who has Ukrainian ancestry, was Canada’s deputy prime minister between 2019 and 2024. She is a serving lawmaker in the Canadian parliament, and is also Ottawa’s special envoy to Ukraine.

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