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Putin has speech mysteriously cut off during rally in Russia as he hails Ukraine invasion a success

March 18, 2022

VLADIMIR Putin’s pro-war speech was mysteriously cut off during a huge rally as he hailed the Ukraine invasion a success.

Russian state TV suddenly cut away from the dictator as he was praising the bravery of his soldiers in Ukraine and and showed pre-recorded footage of patriotic songs instead.

Reuters

Putin’s speech was mysteriously cut off with the Kremlin blaming a technical glitch[/caption]

Vladimir Putin greets people at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium[/caption]

Russian state TV is tightly controlled and such interruptions are highly unusual[/caption]

Putin was cut off mid-sentence as he was saying: “It so happened that the beginning of the operation coincided by chance with the birthday of one of our outstanding military…”

Around 10 minutes later, the Kremlin chief’s speech was replayed from the start to finish before he walked off stage as thousands of spectators waved Russian flags at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium.

Russian state TV is tightly controlled and such interruptions are highly unusual.

The Kremlin claimed a technical glitch was behind the interrupted transmission of Putin’s speech to the packed Moscow stadium to mark the eighth anniversary of Crimea’s annexation.

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According to RIA news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a server glitch had caused the interruption.

During his speech, Putin promised the tens of thousands of people waving Russian flags that all the Kremlin’s aims would be achieved.

He told his supporters: “We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost. And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans.”

He said the soldiers fighting in Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine had illustrated the unity of the country.

“Shoulder to shoulder, they help each other, support each other and when needed they shield each other from bullets with their bodies like brothers. Such unity we have not had for a long time,” he said.

The stage where Putin spoke was decked out with slogans “for a world without Nazism” and “for our president”, using the “Z” – markings used in the military operation in Ukraine.

Before Putin spoke, Russia’s national anthem boomed out across the stands of the stadium used in the 2018 Soccer World Cup along with more modern pop hits such as “Made in the U.S.S.R.”.