Russian Security Council Footage Pre-Recorded, Edited

Vladimir Putin has launched an invasion of Ukraine (Wikimedia Commons)

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Russia’s Security Council on February 21. Although the meeting was advertised as a live broadcast, the event had been pre-recorded and edited.

Unlike many National Security Council meetings, Monday’s event was broadcast across national television. During the meeting, President Putin required senior officials to take a position either supporting or opposing the recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), two self-proclaimed breakaway states located within Ukraine.

Some of the meeting participants’ wristwatches showed times that were inconsistent with the event’s broadcast. The displayed times were closer to one o’clock than the broadcast’s five o’clock premier.

“On Shoygu’s [the Russian Minister of Defense] watch is 12:47. The broadcast of the meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation may be transmitted after 5 hours,” a tweet from Donbass News reads.

“Another confirmation that the ‘broadcast’ is apparently being recorded. In the frame it was seen how Attorney General Krasnov walks from the podium, but his speech was not shown,” Russian independent television network TV Rain wrote on its Telegram channel, alongside a screenshot from a YouTube video of the meeting.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed on February 22 that the broadcast had been pre-recorded.

“The Kremlin explained the format of yesterday's Security Council, debunking the intrigue over the timing of its holding,” the state-run RIA news agency wrote in a tweet. “The meeting itself was recorded, and ‘certain nuances were not broadcast’, but this is not unusual,” Peskov explained.

“It was an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council, which the president convened in response to the extraordinary situation in the two republics. And the subject of recognition of these two republics is, of course, extraordinary. It was extremely important to present the head of state’s entire argument, the arguments of the members of the Council, and their points of view on these very, very important issues. And, of course, to show it first to the citizens of our country, but also, of course, it was very important [to show it] for understanding abroad,” Peskov said.

“In fact, there were no “live” spots because it was not shown live. Certain nuances of the Security Council did not appear on the air. You are aware that, normally, Security Council decisions are presented only in speeches by the head of state. No other statements have ever been shown. [In this case,] the format is unusual — there is indeed an unprecedented openness — but the extraordinary nature of the topic dictated that need,” Peskov added.

After the broadcast, President Putin announced Moscow’s recognition of the DNR and LNR.