Russian World Bank adviser quits in protest at invasion of Ukraine

An adviser at the World Bank has become the first Russian official to resign from a prominent position at an international body in protest at Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Boris Lvin, a senior adviser to Russia’s representative at the Washington-based financial institution, revealed his intention to quit to World Bank board members and their staff last week. “In view of the ongoing events I can no longer associate myself with my government, and will have to resign my position,” he wrote in an email.

Lvin, who has worked at the World Bank for more than 24 years, confirmed to the Financial Times that he had “officially relinquished” his duties on Tuesday. That involved “rather little sacrifice on my side, especially compared to what currently endure people in Ukraine and brave protesters in Russia”, he added.

Although companies, governments and the international community have condemned the invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have remained publicly supportive of, or silent about, the war, which has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee Ukraine.

Kremlin representatives have refused to call the conflict a “war”, describing it instead as a “special military operation”, and denied targeting civilians, despite the evidence of rising civilian casualties and the destruction of urban areas.

Western powers have imposed a series of increasingly severe sanctions on Russia designed to cripple its economy, while oil major ExxonMobil on Tuesday joined the growing list of companies that said they would cut ties with the country in response to the war.

The resignation of US-based Lvin comes days after the head of Russia’s delegation at a major UN climate summit apologised “on behalf of all Russians who were not able to prevent this conflict”, which he said he could not find “any justification for”.

Lvin had served as a senior adviser to Roman Marshavin, the executive director representing Russia as well as Syria at the board of the World Bank Group. Lvin previously worked for the Russian government and at the IMF.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, David Malpass, president of the World Bank Group and Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, said they were “deeply shocked and saddened” by the war and “stand with the Ukrainian people through these horrifying developments”.

They said they planned to provide emergency financing to Ukraine, including $350mn in World Bank “budget support” that could be approved as soon as this week.

In an update on Wednesday — almost a week into the conflict — Ukraine’s military said Russian troops were launching bomb and missile attacks on cities across the country, and seeking to isolate the capital, Kyiv.

A World Bank spokesperson declined to comment on Lvin’s resignation. “We generally do not comment on staffing in the offices of our executive directors.”

Additional reporting by James Politi and Colby Smith