kravietz 🦇Dmitri #Kozak, ex #Putin aide, refused the president’s orders on day two of the Ukraine invasion, insisting he didn’t know #Russia’s goals. Summary by Tymofiy Mylovanov.
Days before the invasion, Kozak warned Putin at a Security Council meeting: Ukrainians will resist, sanctions will be severe, Russia’s position will suffer.
He drafted a memo predicting Sweden and Finland would join NATO, which came true. Kozak had worked with Putin since the 1990s in St. Petersburg. He managed Putin’s first re-election, oversaw the 2014 Olympics, and integrated Crimea.
He was negotiating genuinely with Ukraine when Putin invaded. On Feb 25, Kozak was negotiating a cease-fire with Ukrainian officials involving Russia withdrawing from all areas except Crimea and Donbas.
Putin was furious, accused him of exceeding his mandate, and demanded he negotiate only surrender.
After the confrontation, Kozak lost his Ukraine portfolio but kept his office. He met Western emissaries exploring peace plans, signaling Putin knew of these conversations.
He chain-smoked through back-channel meetings brainstorming solutions. Kozak later sent Putin a stunning memo proposing: stop the war, negotiate with Ukraine, make the judiciary independent of security services.
He shared it outside the Kremlin, separating himself from Putin.He resigned in September 2025. His analytical notes and pleas changed nothing.
While Kozak silently traveled to Israel for treatment, the system he had built for 30 years continued to grind away human lives and destroy Ukrainian cities.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/world/europe/russia-putin-aide-dmitri-kozak-ukraine-war.html
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