Senior Russian official leaves country, allegedly over situation in Ukraine

MOSCOW

The special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin resigned from his post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"(Anatoly) Chubais resigned of his own accord. As for whether he left or not -- it's his own business," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

It is the first time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine that a senior Russian official has resigned, allegedly in protest of the conflict.

A source close to Chubais, said earlier that he "resigned from the post of special representative and left the country."

The Russian oligarch was an influential member of President Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s.

He is responsible for the privatization of multiple state enterprises and was a key figure in introducing a market economy and private ownership in the country.

He headed state-owned electrical power monopoly RAO UES from 1998 to 2008.

Since December 2020, he worked as a presidential envoy for relations with international organizations.