A member of Vladimir Putin's inner circle – someone opposed to the invasion of Ukraine – reportedly resigned in a rare move under the Russian president.
Dmitry Kozak, Putin's 66-year-old deputy chief of staff, submitted his resignation, the Kremlin confirmed following reports by several Russian media outlets.
"I can confirm that Dmitri Nikolaevich Kozak has resigned," Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing, Meduza reported. "It was his own volition."
The Russian newspaper RBC reported Kozak was "considering various offers to go into business."
High-ranking officials under Putin usually are appointed to another post rather than leaving government service. It is the president's way to make sure they stay loyal, The New York Times reported.
The Times last month reported Kozak was known to be the only senior official close to Putin to openly disagree with the February 2022 attack on Ukraine.
Kozak had led Russia's negotiations with Ukraine until the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion, and he spoke out against it in a security council meeting days before. He later told associates that Putin's war was a mistake.
Even earlier this year, Kozak advised Putin to stop fighting in Ukraine and to hold peace negotiations, sources told the Times.
However, the newspaper Thursday said there was no sign Kozak's departure was part of a larger split among Putin confidantes.
Kozak, who worked with Putin in St. Petersburg city hall in the 1990s, oversaw preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and the integration of Crimea into Russia after the peninsula was annexed that same year.
In recent years, though, Kozak has lost power to another deputy chief of staff, Sergei V. Kiriyenko, who has supported Putin's invasion. Responsibilities for dealing with parts of the former Soviet Union, such as Moldova and regions of Georgia, have shifted from Kozak to Kiriyenko, the Times reported.
Putin in late August closed two Kremlin directorates that reported to Kozak.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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