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PARIS: Vladimir Putin's chief envoy to Ukraine told the Russian leader when the war broke out that he had reached an interim deal with Kyiv to satisfy Russia's demand that Ukraine stay out of NATO, but Putin rejected it and pressed ahead with the military campaign. For three people close to the Russian leadership.
The Ukrainian-born envoy, Dmitry Kozak, told Putin that he believed the deal he had hammered out removed the need for Russia to pursue a large-scale occupation of Ukraine, according to these sources. Kozak's recommendation to Putin to adopt the deal is being reported by Reuters for the first time.
Prior to the conflict, Putin had frequently claimed that by adding new members from eastern Europe, NATO and its military infrastructure were encroaching on Russia's borders and that the organisation was now prepared to include Ukraine as well. That forced Putin to respond, claiming it posed an existential threat to Russia.
Although he had previously supported the negotiations, Putin made it clear when Kozak's deal was presented to him that the concessions reached by his assistant did not go far enough and that he had expanded his goals to include annexing large portions of Ukrainian territory, according to the sources. The contract was abandoned as a result.
When questioned regarding Reuters' findings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: "That has nothing to do with reality. Such a thing has never occurred. It is unquestionably false information."
When contacted for comment through the Kremlin, Kozak did not answer.
The Ukrainian president's advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Russia had used the negotiations as a pretext for an invasion, but he would not comment on the details of the discussions or confirm that a preliminary agreement had been reached. Today, it is evident to anyone, according to Podolyak, that the Russian side has never been interested in a peaceful resolution.
Two of the three sources claimed that a push to seal the deal took place right away following Russia's invasion on February 24. According to the sources, Kozak advised to Putin that he sign an agreement after he thought he had secured Ukraine's acceptance to the key conditions Russia had been seeking.
"Kozak was granted complete freedom after February 24; they gave him the go-ahead and he closed the deal. They told him to leave after he returned it. Every event was postponed. Putin merely adjusted his strategy as he proceeded "a source close to the Russian leadership was quoted as saying.
The third source, who was briefed on the conversations between Kozak and Putin, provided a different account of the events and said that Kozak had proposed the proposal to Putin right before the invasion and had it rejected. To reveal sensitive inside information, all of the sources asked to remain anonymous.
The most extensive military operation in Europe since World War II is Moscow's onslaught in Ukraine. Wide-ranging economic sanctions were imposed on Russia as a result, and Washington and its allies in the West decided to back Ukraine militarily.
Kozak's idea might have been accepted by Putin, but it's still unclear if the war would have ended. Reuters was unable to independently confirm that the arrangement was supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or other high-ranking members of his administration.
Kozak, a 63-year-old Putin ally who accompanied him to the mayor's office of St. Petersburg in the 1990s, has been a devoted aide ever since.
Kozak was in a good position to negotiate a peace agreement because Putin had given him the responsibility of speaking with Ukrainian colleagues regarding the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which has been ruled by separatists backed by Russia since a rebellion in 2014. Kozak said at a late-night news conference that the most recent round of those negotiations had come to an end without a breakthrough after heading the Russian delegation in meetings with Ukrainian officials in Berlin on February 10 that were mediated by France and Germany.
Kozak was also present when Putin called a meeting of the Russian Security Council in the Yekaterinsky hall of the Kremlin three days prior to the invasion. Putin had invited his top military and security officials as well as important advisers.
Part of the discussion was captured by state television cameras, during which Putin outlined his plans to formally recognise the separatist groups in eastern Ukraine.
Two of the three people close to the Russian leadership and a third person who learned about what transpired from people who participated in the meeting both claimed that Kozak spoke out against Russia taking any actions to escalate the situation with Ukraine after the cameras were ushered out of the large room with its neo-classical columns and domed ceiling.
A second person who participated in the post-invasion negotiations and was contacted by Reuters claimed that negotiations broke down in early March after Ukrainian officials realised Putin was determined to move forward with the extensive invasion.
Kozak continues to serve as the Kremlin's deputy chief of staff six months after the war began. Six of the sources who talked to Reuters said that he is no longer in charge of the Ukraine dossier.
One of the six, a source close to the separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine, stated, "From what I can see, Kozak is nowhere to be seen."
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