Ukraine war LATEST: Vladimir Putin ‘ready to ARM’ allies as despot forms pact against West with nuke-loving North Korea

VLADIMIR Putin’s senior officials have “approached the West to help end the Ukraine war” according to sensational claims. A highly placed Kremlin official has revealed Putin’s government is “panicked” over the direction of the brutal invasion in a report that has reached Western intelligence. As reported by the Mirror, it is believed senior officers and officials have been spooked by heavy-hitting sanctions, a failing economy and increased risks such as fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. According to the newspaper, a document reads: “A representative of Putin’s inner-circle sent a signal to the West about the desire to negotiate. The mood of the Kremlin elite is panic.” And last night, a senior Ukrainian diplomatic source told the Daily Mirror: “If someone close to Putin has made overtures already it would not come as a surprise. “It is often the case as happened in the closing stages of the Second World War that officials on a side concerned about their future make approaches to ensure it. “Many of the Kremlin ‘elite’ are familiar with life in the West, have had children at Western universities and lived elsewhere. “They know there is a good life to be had away from Putin’s grasp but so far they have not done anything about it as they are too terrified of what will happen to them.” It comes as it was announced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence that “one-fifth” of Russian armed forces units were now “destroyed”. And Ukraine also says the deranged dictator has left 20,000 Russian troops stranded in a tactical withdrawal after Kyiv blew up key bridges in the country’s southern city of Kherson. The soldiers are believed to be cut off from their battalion and key supply lines following a Ukrainian missile strike in the region overnight. Read our Ukraine-Russia blog below for the latest updates…