Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has emerged as a central figure in shaping Moscow’s latest proposal to end the war in Ukraine, despite lacking formal diplomatic credentials.
A former investment banker, Dmitriev has acted as a back-channel communicator between the Kremlin and allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, even though he is on the U.S. sanctions list. Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who resigned in protest over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, said Dmitriev’s outsider status could be an advantage when dealing with Trump’s business-oriented contacts.
Born in Kyiv in 1975, Dmitriev studied in the U.S. through a school exchange program and later graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Business School. He worked with Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company before establishing a reputation in private equity in Russia and Ukraine.
In 2011, Dmitriev became CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), representing Russia internationally and negotiating financial partnerships with countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Analysts describe him as a pragmatic negotiator with a business-focused approach, well-suited to dialogue with Trump-era U.S. officials.
Dmitriev also has personal ties to the Russian leadership. His wife, Natalia Popova, is deputy director of Innopraktika, a nonprofit led by President Vladimir Putin’s daughter, Katerina Tikhonova. In 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Dmitriev and the RDIF were sanctioned by the U.S., which called him “a close associate of Putin.”
In February 2025, Dmitriev was appointed Russian special presidential envoy on foreign investment and economic cooperation. He has previously met prominent Trump allies, including Erik Prince, during efforts to improve U.S.-Russia relations.
While Dmitriev’s role in the Ukraine peace plan remains informal, analysts say any proposal he helps draft would still require Kremlin approval and likely undergo significant revisions. His influence is notable but could be quickly curtailed if Moscow decides to distance itself.