This will be the first person close to Vladimir Putin to speak out against the Russian president’s offensive.

A senior Kremlin official has resigned from his position, becoming the first person to openly speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Anatoly Chubais, who was the former chief of staff to Putin’s predecessor, President Boris Yeltsin, and was a Russian presidential representative for sustainable development, “resigned and left,” a source told TASS.

According to Reuters, after the dismissal, the employee left the country.

The resignation of Putin’s respected adviser, who was the Kremlin’s climate envoy, was confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov declined to comment on reports that the 66-year-old senior official had left Russia. “Whether or not he left the country – that’s a personal matter,” Peskov said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

The resignation was announced in a letter left to colleagues and friends on Tuesday. The news coincides with information about the departure from Russia of several representatives of the cultural and business world, against the war in Ukraine.

Russian daily Kommersant reported that Chubais was seen on Tuesday in Istanbul. Chubais, who has held positions of responsibility for the past 30 years, has held the position of Presidential Representative since December 2020.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine reached its 28th day this Wednesday, and Zelensky said yesterday, Tuesday, that peace negotiations have proved to be “very difficult”.

Source: with agencies