PREMEDITATED

Putin’s Declaration of War on Ukraine Was Filmed Three Days Ago, Says Russian Newspaper

Vladimir Putin‘s “live” declaration of war against Ukraine, transmitted this morning, was recorded on Feb. 21, according to metadata on the Kremlin website.

Vladimir Putin’s televised announcement of a “special military operation” against Ukraine, broadcast early Thursday morning, was filmed three days ago, according to Russia’s Novaya Gazeta. The newspaper, whose editor-in-chief shared last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, published on its Twitter feed what it said was metadata from the Kremlin website showing that the video was recorded on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. Moscow time. Separately, the Russian-based Conflict Intelligence Team pointed out that Putin was wearing the exact same suit and tie in Thursday’s broadcast as he wore when he announced that Russia was to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine—the prelude to all-out war. In the same Twitter thread, the CIT team also claimed that a NOTAM no-fly noticed issued by Russian authorities overnight was dated Feb. 22. “That could suggest that a mass invasion of Ukraine had been planned for February 22, but was delayed for reasons we do not know,” it said.