Anatoly Chubais, Kremlin’s climate envoy and veteran reformer, quit his position in a bombshell departure showing his disapproval of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 66-year-old has reportedly fled from Russia. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Wednesday that Chubais had stepped down from his position, but didn’t specify why. 

“Whether he left or not is his personal matter,” Peskov said, according to Bloomberg. Two unnamed sourced reported said that the latest incident is the highest-level display of opposition to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for his decision of igniting a war that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

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Chubais is in Turkey and doesn’t plan to return to Russia, two sources close to him told the RBC news website. A photo purportedly showing Chubais at an ATM in Istanbul was published by the Kommersant business daily.

Chubais was responsible for making contacts with international organizations to pursue the goals of sustainable development. He maintained close ties with Western officials, in a similar capacity as that of his contemporary and former colleague, former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev.

As Kremlin’s climate envoy, he attempted to push Russia to adopt more green policies.

He once served as former President Boris Yeltsin’s chief of staff.  While many leading figures from Yeltsin era were pushed out, Chubais had managed to stay put for more than two decades of Putin’s rule.

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However, after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine last month, Chubais posted a photo of Boris Nemtsov, a leading Russian opposition figure who was shot dead near the Kremlin in 2015. While he did did not caption the most, many saw it as a powerful statement, coming from one of Putin’s longtime aide.

Almost no political elite has publicly opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Last week, Putin branded those who opposed his actions as “traitors and scum.”

“The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths — spit them out on the pavement,” Putin said last week. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.”