Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday 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,”
Zelensky wrote on social media.
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.
Zelensky described Freeland as having “significant experience in attracting investment and carrying out economic transformations”.
Zelensky also replaced the head of Ukraine’s security service on Monday, continuing the top-level reshuffle ahead of a trip to Paris where he hoped to finalise agreements with allies on how to ensure that Russia does not repeat its invasion if a peace agreement is signed.
Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service, or SBU, announced his resignation on the agency’s website.