A senior Kremlin official has reportedly met Western diplomats and intelligence chiefs in a bid to help end the war in Ukraine.

According to Mail Online, a source claimed that much of Moscow’s elite are highly concerned about the trajectory of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion into the neighbouring country and are alarmed by the bite of wide-ranging sanctions levied by the West in response.

A document, purportedly circulated to Western intelligence agencies and seen by The Mirror, said: ‘A representative of Putin’s inner-circle sent a signal about the desire to negotiate.

The mood of the Kremlin elite is panic.’ It is unclear which member of Moscow’s top officials is likely to have undermined Putin’s plans, but the document supposedly described the insider as a ‘pillar of the regime’ in Russia.

A Ukrainian diplomatic source told The Mirror they would not be surprised to hear that high level Kremlin officials are attempting to connect with Western intelligence agencies behind Putin’s back.

‘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,’ the source said.