Putin fires deputy head of the Kremlin apparatus for opposing war in Ukraine - ISW

Kozak was the only participant at the Security Council meeting on February 21, 2022, who opposed the launch of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

ISW, citing media sources, also reports that Kozak acted as a mediator in early-war negotiations with Ukraine, proposing an agreement that would have prevented Ukraine from joining NATO. Putin rejected the plan because he wanted to annex Ukrainian territory.

Western and Russian sources cited by ISW indicated that Kozak lost his influence in the Kremlin after advising Putin over the past few months to immediately halt military operations in Ukraine, initiate peace negotiations, and reduce the influence of Russian security services.

Reports of Kozak’s differing views from Putin suggest that he - and possibly other influential Kremlin figures, such as Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko - either dismissed Kozak or pressured him to resign voluntarily.

On August 29, Putin signed a decree abolishing the Department of Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the Department of Cross-Border Cooperation of the Presidential Administration, both previously headed by Kozak, likely preparing for his departure.

Previously, Dmitry Kozak was one of Putin’s closest advisors and oversaw Kremlin strategy in Ukraine before the Kremlin shifted this responsibility to Kiriyenko in 2022. Kiriyenko has also recently taken over Kremlin responsibilities regarding Moldova.

Analysts wrote, “Putin’s likely decision to push an established senior Kremlin official from his inner circle after expressing a desire to end the war in Ukraine further indicates that Putin and his advisors are coalescing around their commitment to continue the war in Ukraine and around Putin’s maximalist war demands.”

According to RBC-Ukraine, citing journalist Alexey Venediktov on Telegram, Dmitry Kozak submitted a resignation from his post as Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia voluntarily. The journalist noted that if Kozak’s dismissal is confirmed, it would represent a unique precedent in the history of Putin’s power vertical.

Who is Dmitry Kozak

Dmitry Kozak has been an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin since the 1990s.

He served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government for 12 years, and in 2020, he became Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia, overseeing relations with CIS countries.

Last month, The New York Times reported that Kozak allegedly tried to dissuade Putin from starting a full-scale war against Ukraine.

This year, according to Kozak, he presented Putin with a proposal calling for a cessation of hostilities and the initiation of peace negotiations.