The Putin confidant who quietly pushed back against the Ukraine war

The Putin confidant who quietly pushed back against the Ukraine war

On the second day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest aides refused to carry out an order.

Dmitri N. Kozak, a longtime Kremlin official who had worked with Putin for three decades, was instructed to demand Ukraine’s surrender, according to people close to him. Kozak declined. He told the president that he did not understand the objective of the war and could not negotiate without knowing what Russia was trying to achieve.

As the exchange grew heated, Kozak told Putin he was prepared to be arrested or even shot for refusing to comply, the people said. Only later did Kozak learn that the call had been placed on speakerphone, with senior Kremlin officials listening.

The moment was a rare act of defiance inside Putin’s tightly controlled inner circle, the New York Times reported.

From loyal operator to dissenting voice

Kozak, now 67, resigned in September as deputy chief of staff to the president. His departure came a month after earlier reporting detailed his private opposition to the war. He has not spoken publicly about his disagreements with Putin and declined requests for interviews, according to people close to him.

Six Russians familiar with Kozak’s thinking described him as one of the most senior figures to have broken with the president over the invasion. Most spoke anonymously, citing the risks of discussing internal Kremlin politics.

They said Kozak’s disillusionment reflects broader unease within parts of Russia’s political, business and cultural elite, particularly as Putin has refused to end the war even as pressure for a ceasefire has grown.

A history of proximity to power

Kozak first worked with Putin in the 1990s in St. Petersburg’s mayoral office. Over the years, he became one of the president’s most trusted administrators, managing election campaigns, overseeing preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics and handling the integration of Crimea after its annexation.

In early 2022, Kozak was Russia’s chief negotiator in talks with Ukraine over the conflict in the Donbas. In January that year, he held lengthy discussions in Paris that Ukrainian officials described at the time as constructive. Several former U.S. and Ukrainian officials later said they believed Kozak was genuinely pursuing a diplomatic settlement.

As Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s borders, Kozak drafted a memo outlining the likely consequences of war, according to people who saw it. Among other warnings, it predicted that Sweden and Finland could join NATO, a forecast that later proved accurate.

A moment of public discomfort

On Feb. 21, 2022, days before the invasion, Kozak appeared visibly uneasy during a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council. While other officials endorsed Putin’s plans, Kozak hesitated, explaining that negotiations with Ukraine were failing and that he had more concerns to raise. Putin cut him off.

Later that day, in a closed session, Kozak reportedly warned that Ukraine would resist, sanctions would be severe and Russia’s geopolitical position would suffer. Putin asked him to restate his objections privately. The two men spoke alone beneath the vaulted ceiling of the Kremlin hall. Kozak did not retreat.

It was the last conversation they had before Russian forces began bombing Kyiv.

Marginalised but not removed

After the invasion began, Kozak attempted to negotiate a ceasefire that would have involved Russian withdrawal from most of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the talks. Putin rejected the effort and stripped Kozak of responsibility for Ukraine policy.

Still, Kozak retained his post and office, continuing to meet quietly with Western intermediaries and draft proposals that some confidants described as strikingly candid. One memo suggested ending the war and introducing domestic reforms, including greater judicial independence.

Such ideas were unusual within a system where disagreement with the president is rarely tolerated.

A resignation that still speaks

Putin accepted Kozak’s resignation in September, an uncommon step in a system that often sidelines dissenters without allowing them to leave. Kozak remains in Moscow and has continued to travel abroad for medical treatment, a sign, associates say, that his long personal relationship with Putin still offers some protection.

Those who know him say Kozak believes he served the Russian state rather than the personal ambitions of its leader. The invasion, they say, forced him to confront the absence of limits on Putin’s use of power.

Kozak’s career is inseparable from Putin’s rise. Yet his quiet resistance has made him a marker of something rare in today’s Kremlin: the knowledge that opposition exists, even if it remains largely unspoken.