Two possibilities when it comes to Ilya:

1. He’s the actual ringleader behind the coup. He got everyone on board, provided reassurances and personally orchestrated and executed the firing. Most likely possibly and the one that’s most consistent with all the reporting and evidence so far (including this article).

2. Others on the board (e.g. Adam) masterminded the coup and saw Ilya as a fellow traveler useful idiot that could be deceived into voting against Sam and destroy the company he and his 700 colleagues spent so hard to build. He then also puppeteer Ilya to do the actual firing over Google Meet.

If #1 is real, he’s just the biggest weasel in tech history by repenting so swiftly and decisively… I don’t think neither the article, nor the broader facts really point to him being the first to cast the stone.

Based on Ilya's tweets and his name on that letter (still surprised about that, I have never sees someone calling for their own resignation) that seems to be the story.