Andrew Howard

Volodymyr Zelenskyy just made an appointment that reveals more about the future of international development than a dozen policy papers ever could.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, is now Ukraine’s economic adviser—a strategic position designed to transform $524 billion worth of reconstruction needs into investable opportunities. That’s 2.8 times Ukraine’s entire 2024 GDP. It’s not rebuilding. It’s building something that never existed.

The Private Sector Isn’t Coming to Help—It’s Coming to Invest

Here’s what most reconstruction conversations miss: the private sector could cover a third of Ukraine’s total needs. Not through charity. Through investment.

Since February 2022, the International Finance Corporation has delivered $2.4 billion to support Ukraine’s private sector, including $908 million in mobilised financing. These aren’t grants. They’re capital deployments expecting returns. Freeland’s mandate isn’t to organise aid packages—it’s to make Ukraine investable whilst bombs are still falling.

Why This Appointment Matters Beyond Ukraine

You’re watching the emergence of a new model: reconstruction as competitive advantage.

Zelenskyy stated Ukraine needs to strengthen its “internal resilience”—both for swift diplomatic success and to reinforce defence if delays occur. This flips traditional reconstruction thinking. Usually, you fight first, then rebuild. Ukraine is doing both simultaneously, treating economic development as a weapon system.

Freeland brings experience attracting international investment at scale, relationships with G7 finance ministries, expertise structuring deals that satisfy both development objectives and commercial returns, and personal credibility in Ukraine—the KGB once tracked her as “Frida” for her activism there in the 1980s.

The Infrastructure Opportunity Hidden in Crisis

Ukraine’s reconstruction needs break down into specific sectors:

Housing: $84 billion
Transport: $78 billion
Energy and extractives: $68 billion
Commerce and industry: $64 billion
Agriculture: $55 billion

Each represents a greenfield opportunity to build modern infrastructure from scratch. No legacy systems to work around. No entrenched interests protecting obsolete assets.

Ukraine has undertaken significant anti-corruption reforms—strengthening governance frameworks that international investors require. Despite ongoing conflict, many firms continue operating at substantial capacity. This isn’t a failed state. It’s an economy positioning itself for transformation.

What This Means for How Conflicts Resolve

Canada has committed over $23.5 billion to Ukraine since 2022, with Prime Minister Carney recently announcing a $2.5 billion package. These aren’t handouts—they’re strategic investments in a country that will emerge as a major European economy or won’t emerge at all.

Freeland’s task is to organise an international advisory council on reconstruction, coordinate private sector engagement, and position Ukraine as an investment destination whilst active conflict continues. That’s never been done at this scale.

The Broader Pattern

What you’re watching is the professionalisation of reconstruction.

Traditional post-conflict development followed sequential stages: stabilisation, humanitarian relief, infrastructure rebuilding, economic development. Ukraine is running all stages simultaneously. Businesses operate whilst facing security risks. International investors conduct due diligence whilst air raid sirens sound. Infrastructure projects launch before the war ends.

This requires different expertise—not development economists or humanitarian organisations, but people who understand how to structure bankable deals in extreme uncertainty. The country that wins the peace will be the one that can attract private capital fastest. The $9.96 billion financing gap for 2025 won’t close through public funding alone. That’s the job: making a war zone investable.

What Comes Next

Other conflict zones will watch closely. Freeland’s success or failure will determine whether this approach becomes standard practice or remains a Ukrainian experiment.

You’re watching the prototype for how 21st-century conflicts resolve—not through military victory alone, but through economic transformation that makes continued fighting pointless. That’s the real innovation: wars ending when economic resilience becomes a strategic weapon.