Top Putin aide quits in protest of Ukraine war, flees Russia

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has resigned, becoming the first senior official to quit since Russia first invaded Ukraine on February 24.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Anatoly Chubais resigned from his role as Russia’s envoy to international organizations and sustainable development of his own accord. Two sources have also said the former adviser has left the country in opposition to the war, Bloomberg first reported.

Chubais first rose to prominence in the 1990s when he helped shape Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s economic reforms and held senior business and political roles under Putin. Since 2020, he had been special envoy to international organizations, acting as the climate envoy.

But his resignation comes amid strong global and domestic backlash to Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and Chubais’ resignation could signal growing levels of discord within Russia’s ruling elite.

So far, Putin’s allies have remained in line – but opposition in the street has been met with a crackdown on dissent. There are signs, however, that there is growing division within his ranks.

Last week, former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich resigned from his role as chair of the prestigious Skolkovo Foundation – just days after publicly criticizing the war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Mother Jones, Dvorkovich said, "Wars are the worst things one might face in life... including this war."

"My thoughts are with Ukrainian civilians," he added.

Similarly, several Russian oligarchs — normally counted among Putin’s closest allies — have broken rank to criticize the president after Western governments began to sanction them and seize their assets.

But some experts believe that Putin fired back and threatened any potential opposition within his circle when he spoke out against the “scum and traitors” inside Russia who opposed the war and called for a “necessary self-detoxification of society.”

According to Chatham House Associate Fellow John Lough, Putin was really saying: “Don’t think about having second thoughts. We’re all in this together, and if I go down, you go down.”