Kathrine Frich
Moments of open dissent inside the Kremlin are rare.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, public unity has been rigidly enforced around President Vladimir Putin.
But a new account suggests one senior official openly refused to comply in the earliest days of the war.
A rare refusal
According to a report by the New York Times, Dmitry Kozak, then Russia’s deputy chief of staff, defied Putin on the second day of the invasion in February 2022.
The newspaper cited three people familiar with the exchange.
Putin instructed Kozak to demand Ukraine’s immediate surrender, the report said. Kozak declined, arguing that he did not understand the purpose of the invasion.
As the conversation became tense, Kozak told Putin “that he was ready to be arrested or shot for his refusal,” according to the New York Times.
Witnesses to dissent
The call, the report said, was conducted on speakerphone, allowing senior Kremlin officials to hear what was described as a rare moment of insubordination.
Kozak, 66, had been one of Putin’s closest allies, serving the Kremlin for around three decades. He was widely regarded as one of the few senior figures willing to argue against the invasion.
Three days before the war began, Kozak delivered a 40-minute speech to Russia’s Security Council warning of the consequences of attacking Ukraine. Unlike other speeches at the meeting, his remarks were not broadcast publicly.
Marginalised and sidelined
Kozak nearly became Russia’s acting president between 2008 and 2012, but the role ultimately went to Dmitry Medvedev. Over time, he was increasingly sidelined by Putin.
According to the New York Times, Kozak continued to urge mediation with Ukraine after the invasion and repeatedly warned the president that the war was a mistake.
He also predicted that the conflict would push Sweden and Finland to join NATO, a development that later occurred.
One source cited by the newspaper said Kozak believed he was “working in the service of the state, and not in Putin’s personal interests”.
Quiet departure
Kozak resigned from his Kremlin post in September, after years of diminishing influence.
He has not spoken publicly about his opposition to the war and declined to be interviewed for the New York Times report.
Russian journalist Aleksei Venediktov told the newspaper: “Dmitri is gone, but the mood is the same. He is important as a marker.”
Sources: The New York Times, The Sun.
