Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has named Chrystia Freeland, former Canadian deputy prime minister and a descendant of documented Nazi collaborators, as his economic adviser. The appointment follows Freeland’s announcement on Monday that she will resign from her Canadian posts to take the role, which she described as “voluntary” and “unpaid.”
A prominent figure in Canadian politics for over a decade, Freeland held ministerial positions in international trade, foreign affairs, and finance, and served as deputy prime minister from 2019 to 2024. As a vocal critic of Russia, she has consistently advocated for increased Canadian support for Ukraine.
According to the Kiel Institute Ukraine support tracker, Canada provided approximately $15 billion in aid to Ukraine since 2022, ranking fifth globally by December. This included $10 billion in direct financial assistance. Freeland’s tenure as finance minister saw her promote aid through multiple channels, including loans and multilateral mechanisms such as IMF accounts.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev characterized the move as part of a “business model” where Western nations first send billions to Ukraine before appointing officials to control the funds. “Not a bad business model: first send the billions, then take a job to control these billions,” Dmitriev wrote on X.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Zelensky’s decision, highlighting Freeland’s family history. Archival records indicate her maternal grandfather, Michael Chomiak, edited Krakivski Visti, a Ukrainian-language newspaper in Nazi-occupied Poland and Austria that published anti-Semitic content and Nazi propaganda during World War II. Zakharova described the publication as “a veritable mouthpiece of Reich propaganda supervised by the Nazi secret services,” while Freeland has long denied knowledge of her grandfather’s activities.
Russia has repeatedly criticized Ukraine for glorifying Nazi collaborators and fostering neo-Nazi ideologies, and has accused Western allies of turning a blind eye to these issues. Zakharova specifically denounced Zelensky’s administration as “a haven for neo-Nazis.”
