NYT: Kozak Refused In The First Days Of The War To Follow Putin's Orders And Demand Ukraine Surrender
6- 18.12.2025, 19:05
- 12,230
He stated that he was prepared to be arrested or shot.
Former deputy chief of staff to Russian President Dmitri Kozak refused to follow Vladimir Putin's orders and call on Kiev to surrender in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying he was "ready to be arrested or shot." This is reported by The New York Times, citing sources.
They say that before a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kozak prepared an extensive memo for Putin outlining the likely negative consequences of war for Russia, including a prophetic warning about the possibility of Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
February 21, at a closed-door portion of the Russian Security Council meeting, Kozak said that Ukraine would resist the Russian military, sanctions would be harsh, and Russia's geopolitical position would deteriorate significantly, the NYT wrote.
According to the publication, after the statement, Putin ordered all officials except Kozak and permanent members of the Security Council to leave the meeting. He then asked the deputy head of the AP to repeat his arguments. The politician soon dismissed everyone except Kozak and asked him, "What is this? <...> Why are you against this?"
The NYT's sources say that a few hours after the war began, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, called Kozak. The Russian official said he wanted a negotiated peace settlement as soon as possible.
On the second day of the Russian invasion, Kozak was already negotiating a cease-fire with Vladimir Zelensky's aide David Arahamia, the sources say. According to them, the agreement included security guarantees and the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine except Crimea and Donbass.
"These talks infuriated Mr. Putin," the NYT publication said.
The sources said that on the evening of February 25, Putin contacted Kozak on a secure line and criticized him for exceeding his authority. He demanded that the official inform Kiev that Russia was ready to negotiate only on Ukraine's surrender. Kozak refused him and said he was "ready to be arrested or shot" because of his decision.
The deputy head of the AP did agree to hand over the surrender demand to Ukraine, the publication's interlocutors claim. According to them, he called Arahamiya and Putin listened silently. The Ukrainian official refused to obey the Kremlin.
The next day, the first deputy head of the AP, Sergei Kiriyenko, told Kozak that Vladimir Medinsky would lead negotiations with Ukraine, the NYT writes.
Despite the direct conflict with Putin, Kozak continued to work in the building of the Russian presidential administration, the publication's interlocutors say. There, they said, he met with several unofficial Western envoys and told them he still had access to Putin.
After a while, Putin invited Kozak to make proposals to improve Russia's economic climate, according to the NYT. In his memo, the official called for negotiations with Ukraine and domestic reforms aimed at liberalizing the country. For example, Kozak suggested making the Russian judicial system independent from the supervision of siloviki, the publication said.
In September 2025, it became known that Kozak was resigning as deputy head of the presidential administration. According to the NYT, he still resides in Moscow, but travels to Israel for medical treatment, as well as to Turkey and the UAE.
The journalists claim that Kozak is the only person from Putin's entourage who has spoken openly about opposition to the war.
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