Vladimir Putin's speech is cut short on Russian state TV feed

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The Russian President had appeared at the rally in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow earlier today (Friday), where he praised Russian “unity” over the invasion. However, BBC correspondent Will Vernon said many attendees were pressured in to going and did not want to be seen there.

According to the Moscow-based producer, many of those in attendance said they worked in the public sector and “had been pressured into attending by their employers”.

He said: “One group of teachers, from a town near Moscow, were being told what to say to us by a woman who appeared to be from the local administration.”

Another man, who worked for the Moscow metro, said that he and others had been “forced” to attend the pro-war rally.

The rail worker told reporters: “I’ll be here for a while and then I’ll leave […] I think most people here don’t support the war. I don’t.”

However, most people were said not to want to talk to the press, or be filmed.

Mr Vernon said some “would cover their faces or put up their hoods when we said we are journalists. Many seemed embarrassed or ashamed to be there.”

Students at the rally said that they had been given the day off from lectures if they attended “a concert”.

But some did not know that it was, in fact, a rally in support of Putin’s horrific invasion.

More to follow…

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