The dismissal from the Russian presidential administration of Dmitry Kozak, who was previously one of Vladimir Putin’s closest advisers and oversaw the Kremlin’s Ukraine strategy and expressed disagreement with the policy regarding the war against Ukraine, shows that Putin remains committed to the intent to continue the war, the American Institute for the Study of War wrote in a report.
“Senior Kremlin officials, likely with the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fired Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak from his Kremlin post after years of disagreement with Putin’s policy on the war in Ukraine…Putin’s likely decision to oust a prominent Kremlin official from his inner circle after expressing a desire to end the war in Ukraine further demonstrates that Putin and his advisers are coalescing around their devotion to the continuation of the war in Ukraine and around maximalist in the
Dmitry Kozak’s resignation from his post as deputy head of the Russian presidential administration at his own request was reported the previous day by the Russian daily RBC, citing two sources familiar with Kozak’s decision. Both sources said Kozak was considering various proposals to move into business.
Kozak is one of Putin’s long-time associates. In 2000, with Putin’s ascension to the Russian presidency, Kozak took a position first as deputy chief and then as first deputy chief of his administration. In 2004, he joined the Russian government. He subsequently worked as plenipotentiary representative of the Russian president in the Southern Federal District, minister of regional development, and deputy prime minister.
He returned to the Russian presidential administration in 2020, as deputy head of the administration, Anton Vaino. On 10 August, The New York Times wrote that Kozak recently presented Putin with a plan to end hostilities in Ukraine, and called for internal reforms in Russia, including greater control over the security forces and the creation of an independent judiciary.
The publication noted that Kozak, who has long been involved in important state projects and regions, had recently gradually lost influence in the Kremlin. At the same time, Kozak remained one of the few high-ranking officials in Russia known for his private opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
NYT sources also claimed that even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Kozak warned Putin of its possible consequences, including stiff resistance from the Ukrainian army and society. After the large-scale war began, he tried to negotiate a ceasefire, but his proposals were rejected by Putin. Despite this, Kozak retains some access to Putin and continues to engage in unofficial contacts with Western representatives, the NYT wrote in August.
ISW has previously repeatedly emphasised that Russian leader Vladimir Putin remains committed to achieving his battlefield goals in Ukraine through a prolonged war and is not interested in peace efforts offered by the US, Ukraine and other states.