Before his resignation, Dmitry Kozak wrote a letter to Putin criticizing the war.

New details have emerged regarding Dmitry Kozak's September resignation from his position as Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration. Before his dismissal, he wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin criticizing Russia's attack on Ukraine. Shortly thereafter, he left the country, but regularly returns home, according to four acquaintances of the former official, as reported by «Agentstvo». Before his resignation on September 18 from the post of Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Dmitry Kozak prepared two documents: an official resignation letter and a personal letter to Putin, according to two sources familiar with the circumstances of Kozak's departure (citing the former official himself). In the letter, the former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration criticized Russia's attack on Ukraine in very harsh terms, according to one of the sources. Kozak himself believes that he did not provoke Putin's anger with his demarche and even hopes to see him in the near future, claims another source familiar with the former official since the 1990s. Almost immediately after his resignation, Kozak began to travel abroad frequently, going to Israel, according to four sources. However, this is not related to concerns about his own safety, claims an acquaintance of the former official. He travels, among other things, for medical treatment and returns to Russia, he clarified. Kozak is the only official in Vladimir Putin's inner circle who has condemned the war. This year, he offered Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine, as well as to carry out reforms within Russia that would affect the special services and the judicial system. Kozak was born in the Kirovograd region of Ukraine and studied at Leningrad University. In the 1990s, he worked in the team of St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak along with Putin. The latter, becoming Prime Minister in 1999, made Kozak the head of the government apparatus. Since then, he has worked as a minister, presidential envoy to the Caucasus, deputy prime minister, and deputy head of the presidential administration. Before Russia's attack on Ukraine, Kozak was responsible in the Kremlin for interaction with the unrecognized LPR and DPR. He participated in the Security Council meeting on February 21, 2022, where the issue of recognizing these «republics» was decided. During his speech, Kozak criticized the Ukrainian leadership, but then himself asked Putin for permission to «answer the question of whether to annex the Donbass or not.» Apparently, his subsequent words were cut out. Sources say that Kozak spoke out against the attack on Ukraine, as evidenced by a New York Times article and a Reuters investigation. After that, Kozak was effectively removed from issues related to Ukraine, but was not dismissed. He was responsible for other regions of the near abroad, where the Kremlin has recently faced setbacks: in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Moldova, pro-Russian candidates lost, and an internal political crisis erupted in Abkhazia. Therefore, the supervision of these territories was transferred to another deputy head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Kiriyenko. Kozak held the position and office, but was effectively without work recently, says his acquaintance. Various media reports have appeared about new employment options for the official, ranging from a plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern District to a position as a business rights defender. However, after his resignation on September 18, Kozak has not received any position.

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