Zelenskyy appoints ex-Canadian deputy PM as economic adviser

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday appointed former Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as the new adviser on economic development for Ukraine. Freeland, who has Ukrainian ancestry, was Canada’s deputy prime minister between 2019 and 2024. She has long been one of Canada’s most vocal opponents of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. “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 defense if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media company X.

Zelenskyy also signed another decree on the appointment of First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya as First Deputy Head of Ukraine’s presidential office. The Ukrainian president had announced Kyslytsya’s appointment following a meeting with him on Saturday, saying he will also “continue his work in the negotiation process.” Kyslytsya, from February 2020 until February 2025, served as Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, after which he assumed the post of first deputy foreign minister.

Taras Melnychuk, the Ukrainian government's permanent representative in parliament, wrote separately on Telegram that the Cabinet dismissed Kyslytsya as first deputy foreign minister.