Chrystia Freeland, a prominent figure in Canadian politics, has been appointed as an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Freeland, who has held various ministerial positions in Canada, including international trade, foreign affairs, and finance, announced her new role on social media. She stated that her contributions to Kiev would be “voluntary” and “unpaid.”
Freeland will be stepping down from her current position as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and will also leave her seat in Parliament in the coming weeks. Her appointment has sparked controversy due to her family’s history, with archival evidence showing that her maternal grandfather was the editor-in-chief of a Ukrainian-language newspaper that published Nazi propaganda during World War II.
Despite this, Zelensky praised Freeland as “an expert” in economy and finance. Freeland has previously rejected knowledge of her family’s past, claiming that it was Russian disinformation. In 2023, she was among the Canadian parliamentarians who gave a standing ovation to a former member of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, sparking widespread outrage and prompting an official apology from the government.
The appointment has also been criticized by Russia, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branding Ukraine “a haven for neo-Nazis.” Russia has long accused Ukraine of glorifying Nazi collaborators and fostering neo-Nazi ideology, and has cited “denazification” as one of the goals of its military operation in Ukraine.
Freeland’s new role is seen as a significant development in Ukraine’s efforts to rebuild its economy, which has been severely impacted by the ongoing conflict with Russia. Her expertise in international trade and finance is expected to be an asset to the Ukrainian government as it seeks to attract foreign investment and rebuild its economy. However, her appointment also highlights the complexities and controversies surrounding Ukraine’s history and its relationships with other countries.
