KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Chrystia Freeland, a former deputy prime minister of Canada, as his new adviser on Ukraine’s economic development, according to a presidential decree published Monday.

“Chrystia is highly skilled in these matters and has extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic transformations,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Freeland will be working on a freelance basis.

“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 added.

Freeland, 57, served as deputy PM of Canada under former leader Justin Trudeau. More recently, she resigned from her post as transport and internal trade minister in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Cabinet in September to become Canada’s special envoy on the reconstruction of Ukraine. Freeland has Ukrainian roots through her mother, Halyna Chomiak, and is a prominent pro-Ukraine advocate.

Freeland has not commented publicly on the announcement. When contacted, POLITICO received an out-of-office reply, saying she would be back at work later today.

Freeland’s appointment is the latest step in Zelenskyy’s reboot of his office. The president recently appointed former military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff, and former Ukrainian deputy foreign minister and long-term ambassador to the U.N. Sergiy Kyslytsya has been appointed deputy head of the president’s office.

The Ukrainian leader explained the reboot was needed to strengthen the country’s negotiating stance and resilience in the face of what’s coming.

“Our country has two paths. The first path is peaceful, diplomatic, and it is a priority for us today. We want to end the war. At some point, if Russia blocks it and the partners do not force Russia to stop the war, there will be another path — to defend ourselves. And at this point, fresh forces will be needed. I will go through a parallel reboot of all structures. Just in case,” Zelenskyy told reporters during a press briefing on Saturday.