Chrystia Freeland takes on new role amid government shakeup in Kyiv as Ukrainian president replaces key figures

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has named Canada’s former finance minister Chrystia Freeland as an adviser on economic development, a move he says will help strengthen the “internal resilience” of the war-torn nation.

“Chrystia is highly skilled in these matters and has extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic transformations,” he wrote on social media. “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.”

Yulia Lemeshchenko was defiant and did not deny the accus ations, saying she had decided to fight against Russian military aggression

At the beginning of autumn 2023, Yulia Lemeshchenko stopped appearing at the Kharkiv gym where she trained most days. A driven athlete, whose talent for weightlifting led her to become champion of Ukraine in 2021, her disappearance prompted confusion among her training partners.

Months later, she resurfaced in a Moscow courtroom, accused of plotting sabotage and assassinations in Russia on behalf of the Ukrainian security services. Prosecutors claimed Lemeshchenko had blown up power lines outside St Petersburg and had later travelled to Voronezh, where she was staking out a Russian air force commander with a view to killing him.

The US may be making positive noises, but exhausted Ukrainians remain wary after nearly four years of war

“I would give anything in the world if, in this address, I could say that peace will also come in just a few minutes,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a message to the Ukrainian people released just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. “Unfortunately, I cannot say that yet.”

Zelenskyy said a peace agreement was “90% ready”, but added something that subverted Donald Trump’s constant claims that a deal is just around the corner. “Those 10% contain, in fact, everything,” he said.