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A long-time Kremlin adviser has quit his post and fled Russia over his opposition to the Ukraine war, the first high-profile departure since Moscow’s invasion began last month.

Anatoly Chubais, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s climate envoy, recently fled the country, Reuters and Bloomberg News reported.

Chubais, a key player in President Boris Yeltsin’s economic reforms in the 1990s, had also served in various business and political roles under Putin. He was most recently named special envoy for international organizations

Chubais broke with the Kremlin over Putin’s war in Ukraine, two unnamed sources told Bloomberg News.

Reuters reported that Chubais hung up Wednesday when reached by phone.

Within Russia, Chubais was widely regarded as a reformer. Under Yeltsin, he spearheaded privatizations and market reforms as the country left the Soviet system behind.

Kremlin official Anatoly Chubais allegedly resigned his post at the Kremlin and fled the country as a form of protest. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) listens to Rosnano Chairman Anatoly Chubais while visiting the Chelyabinsk on December 5, 2016. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Anatoly Chubais allegedly posted a picture to social media of Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader who was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015, before resigning. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

When Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began last month, Chubais posted a picture to social media of Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader who was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015.

The post was widely seen as a condemnation of the war.

With Post wires

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