diff --git a/.github/workflows/desktop_artifacts.yml b/.github/workflows/desktop_artifacts.yml
index 17264c194..f3b0e9ff2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/desktop_artifacts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/desktop_artifacts.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install target for ${{ matrix.target }}
         run: rustup target add ${{ matrix.target }}
 
-      - name: Install dependencies for Linux
+      - name: Install dependencies for cross-compilation
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
           sudo apt-get install -y gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu libssl-dev pkg-config
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ jobs:
           PKG_CONFIG_PATH: ${{ env.PKG_CONFIG_PATH }}
           PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS: ${{ env.PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS }}
           PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR: ${{ env.PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR }}
+          CC: aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc
+          CXX: aarch64-linux-gnu-g++
         run: cargo build -p calimero-node --release --target ${{ matrix.target }}
 
       - name: Build the crate for x86_64