Revealed: Metadata shows Putin's Ukraine war declaration was prerecorded 3 days prior to its release

On Thursday, The Daily Beast flagged that Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent newspapers in Russia, has shared evidence that Vladimir Putin's announcement declaring war on Ukraine was filmed three days before the announcement was actually aired — yet more evidence that the conflict and the justifications for it were carefully scripted and planned by the Kremlin.

"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," reported Philippe Naughton. "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."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ostensibly to protect Russian-backed separatists who have declared two so-called "independent republics" in the east of the country, has moved blindingly fast, with gunfire and shelling already reported near the capital city of Kyiv.