The only ally of Putin who openly condemned the war with Ukraine has left for Israel.

After his dismissal in September, Dmitry Kozak, one of the longest-serving members of the Kremlin circle and a rare person there who allowed himself to criticize the war, left Russia and flew to Israel. According to “Agency,” the trip is not related to political calculation but to the need for medical treatment, although the timing of his departure is telling.

Before his resignation, he sent a personal letter to Putin — with sharp wording, directly disagreeing with the invasion of Ukraine. People familiar with the internal workings claim that Kozak hopes he hasn’t created a conflict with the president and may well meet with him personally later. It’s as if he’s trying to stay “in the field,” but no longer within the system.

He has had a long career arc. He established himself in the government apparatus back in the late nineties, later led Putin’s election campaign headquarters, managed the Crimea integration bloc, and participated in negotiations on Moldova and Abkhazia. In 2020, he moved to the presidential administration, but since the beginning of this year, his line of responsibility has declined — almost everything went to Kiriyenko. Formally, Kozak was listed, but in fact — he was not.

Sanction lists have accompanied him for more than ten years. The US and the EU included him after 2014, followed by Australia, Japan, the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ukraine. For an official of such a level, this is not news, but given the current climate, the sanction background has become part of the overall isolation.

In the wake of his resignation, political analysts are discussing not so much Kozak’s departure itself, but what such movements within the upper circle might mean. It looks like the beginning of a quiet redistribution of roles, where figures are seeking safe distances and backup exits. Not a statement, but a trend that is still read in half-tones.

If such steps are repeated by others, the political configuration around the Kremlin may become less predictable. And each such story turns into a marker of how the elite reacts to a prolonged war, internal imbalances, and international pressure. Therefore, we continue to monitor such movements and signals — including to explain them to the Israeli and Ukrainian-Israeli reader, which is the focus of the materials of “NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency”.