Vladimir Putin 'confronted by his own inner circle over Ukraine' as tensions erupt in Russia

Russian business executives have reportedly described the situation inside the Kremlin as being at 'breaking point'

Putin faces stiff opposition in his own country as Ukraine continues to push back Russian forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin was questioned by one of his relatives about his handling of the war in Ukraine.

According to US intelligence, the insider complained that Putin mismanaged the war effort and accused those who ran the campaign of making "mistakes".

Meanwhile, Russian business leaders reportedly described the situation inside the Kremlin as being at “breaking point” and on the brink of serious internal fighting.

Putin's position is becoming increasingly precarious following a series of successful Ukrainian military counter-offensives, with swathes of Russian-occupied territory being recaptured under Ukrainian control.

Mr Putin's spokesman denies any confrontation

In response, Putin announced a largely unpopular mobilization campaign to build up frontline forces to annex the occupied territories. He also began threatening to use nuclear weapons.

The US intelligence briefing suggesting Putin is facing backlash from those around him was leaked to the Washington Post. The outlet did not reveal the identity of the dissident, but said his name was in the dossier given to US President Joe Biden.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, flatly denied reports that any official confronted Putin. He acknowledged there were disagreements at the top level, but said these were just "working arguments".

“Some people think we should do things differently, but it's all part of the normal working process,” he said.

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Putin achieved very few of his goals when he set out to invade Ukraine in what he described as a "special military operation" in February. He succeeded in annexing four regions - which are now occupied by Russian troops.

He ordered the drafting of 300,000 men into the Russian army, which is deeply unpopular across...