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Did Putin record his invasion threat THREE days ago? Net sleuths spot clues

Netizens wondered whether Putin had already made up his mind about invading Ukraine on Monday, February 21

Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked speculation that he wore the same outfit he had donned two days ago during a speech early Thursday morning, February 24, in which he claimed Russia created Ukraine.

Netizens wondered whether Putin had already made up his mind about unleashing a war on Monday, February 21, three days before he chillingly warned President Joe Biden and NATO not to intervene as the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine. The Russian strongman was seen wearing the same suit and red tie he wore on Monday to lay out his claim on Ukraine, saying it was essentially always a part of Russia.

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Putin's speeches on February 21 and 24 could be interpreted as evidence that he had already decided to invade Ukraine and that he hoodwinked leaders in the West who urged him to take a diplomatic path. Considering this, social media was inundated with claims that both speeches were recorded on the same day and aired on different dates.

"Quite possible this was pre-recorded, especially given the separatist letters were dated Tuesday. At left, Putin's declaration of war. At right, Putin's angry, rambling speech from Monday night. He's wearing the same outfit, down to the tie," Financial Times Moscow bureau chief Max Seddon tweeted.

"Putin declares war on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, February 24 ... wearing the exact same outfit, in the same room, surrounded by the same stuff, as he gave his incendiary speech on Monday, February 21," reporter Zoya Sheftalovich acknowledged.

"Metadata of Putin’s war declaration video shows that it was created on February 21, not today, three days before the declaration was made public. Anyone can download the video file from the Kremlin website and check it for yourself," one Twitter user wrote.

"The phone cords are hanging down in an identical way," someone else added.

"Same folder paper behind him on the left," another observed.
 

Putin appeared dismissive of modern-day Ukraine in his speech to the Russian public Monday night, arguing that recognizing the nation as a sovereign state was a grave mistake and an accident of communist leaders in the 20th century. Among those he blamed were former soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Stalin. He also slammed Nikita Khruschev's decision to award Crimea to Ukraine in 1954.

There's no denying that there were kernels of truth in the Russian president's words, considering Ukrainians and Russians are both related eastern Slavic peoples whose lives have been intertwined and separated throughout history. Thursday's explosions in Ukraine came shortly after the US warned the Ukrainian government that Putin's troops were "ready to go" ahead with an invasion and that 80 percent of Russian soldiers had assembled around the nation's borders ready to attack. "To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside - if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history," Putin declared on the television broadcast.