Former Putin ally called the war in Ukraine a mistake: what happened to Kozak.

One of the oldest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, former curator of occupied Donbas Dmitry Kozak, stated that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a mistake. After this, he lost power, yielding to Sergey Kiriyenko.

This is reported by The New York Times (NYT).

How Kozak disappointed Putin

The publication writes that for decades, Kozak had been a loyal aide to Putin in carrying out 'some of the most delicate tasks'. However, three people close to the Kremlin and two informed representatives from the West told the publication that today, Dmitry Kozak is almost not responsible for anything, and almost all of his powers have been transferred to Sergey Kiriyenko.

'Kozak disappointed Putin because he clearly expressed that he considers the invasion of Ukraine a mistake', the report states.

In particular, on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kozak advised the Russian dictator not to do this. According to insiders, he allegedly warned Putin about the horrific consequences of a full-scale invasion, predicting fierce resistance from Ukraine.

Moreover, it is reported that in the spring of 2022, Putin rejected a peace agreement with Ukraine that Kozak had supposedly preliminarily agreed to with Kyiv.

What is known about Kozak

Dmitry Kozak was born in Soviet Ukraine, served in Soviet special forces, and worked with Putin in the St. Petersburg city administration in the 1990s. When Putin became Prime Minister of Russia in 1999, he appointed Kozak as head of his office.

In the following years, Kozak remained one of Putin's closest allies, managing his main projects – from preparing for the 2014 Sochi Olympics to integrating the occupied Crimea into the Russian system.