Putin’s Speech At Massive Rally Cut Off On State TV, Technical Glitch Blamed

deadline.com:

At about the same time that President Joe Biden was on the phone discussing Russia with China’s Xi Jinping, and as Russian troops pounded Ukrainian cities, Vladimir Putin gathered close to 200,000 Muscovites in a soccer stadium to put his spin on things.It was billed as concert to mark the 8th anniversary of the referendum on Crimea’s so-called reunification with Russia, but it was also a chance for Putin to try and rally support for his war on Ukraine.

But all did not go as planned.Putin, standing on a stage with no one else near him, was about to wrap his speech when the TV feed jumped to a dolly shot swinging out over the crowd.

Audio from Putin’s speech was suddenly replaced by music and cheering. You can see it below.Here's video of Putin suddenly vanishing mid-sentence.

Where is he?! pic.twitter.com/c6VqE6GG3s— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 18, 2022State-run RIA news said the Kremlin blamed “a technical failure on the server” for the interruption.