Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at a pro-war rally in a Moscow stadium was cut-off mysteriously on Friday when he was talking on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.
According to reports, Russian state television suddenly cut away from Putin hailing its “special operation in Ukraine” and the bravery of its soldiers to patriotic songs – prompting confusion among audiences.
The incident took place when was speaking in front of 100,000 supporters at Luzhniki Stadium when his speech was interrupted mid-way to play a concert by singer and composer Oleg Gazmanov.
A woman translating his speech could be heard saying: “The beginning of the operation coincided by accident with the birthday of one of our military leaders…” before the feed cut out.
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Such interruptions are highly unusual considering that Russian media is tightly controlled by the government.
Around 10 minutes later, Putin’s speech, which lasted about five minutes, was re-aired from the start soon afterwards, following which he walked off the stage.
Before anyone could speculate the reasons, the Kremlin quickly issued a statement saying that it was a “technical glitch” that interrupted Putin’s speech.
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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 sought to justify his actions by claiming that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbas region.
“This really was genocide. Stopping that was the goal of the special operation,” Putin said, adding – contrary to evidence Ukrainian civilians had welcomed Moscow’s invading troops.
(With inputs from agencies)
