Video: Subtitles of Putin's speech on Ukraine are incorrect

Chinese subtitles publish “information” about Putin’s resignation

On February 3, 2023, Putin announced a clear response to any country that threatened Russia, after which the video made its rounds online. It has now been viewed over 500,000 times after it was shared in a post on the Chinese network Weibo on February 7, 2023. It has since also circulated widely on Twitter , Douyin , the Chinese version of TikTok, and WeChat .

The clip includes a Chinese caption that translates to: “Boss move. The Russian president gives a speech about whether he will step down in 2023." According to the subtitles, which are also Chinese, he allegedly mentions in the speech: "Recently there has been a lot of coverage in foreign media about the fact that I may step down as president in 2023. Oh… I would like to emphasize that I will not leave my position until the problem in Ukraine is resolved.”

Additionally, according to the subtitles, Putin mentions the following: “We are not just fighting against Ukraine, we are fighting against the entire NATO. Russia has been pushed to the breaking point, so we must fight. The victory will be ours. Those who do not offer us a way out will not receive a way out from us. We will not withdraw our troops until we have achieved our objective.”

The Russian president also sharply criticized Germany for its promise to send tanks to Kiev. Ukraine had asked its Western allies to send modern battle tanks in order to repel a renewed Russian offensive and be able to attack itself.

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But video was edited...

After a combined reverse image search and keyword search on Google, we were able to determine that the first six seconds of the edited video were from an AFP video posted to YouTube . The excerpts from Putin's speech were shown between seconds 28 and 34 in the AFP video, but the audio of the edited video is significantly different from the original.

In reality, Putin gave his speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the Red Army's victory over Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad. He spoke of Russia being threatened “again” by German tanks, similar to the situation in World War II. This description is in the real video.

...and with incorrect subtitles

After a reverse image and keyword search, the second video excerpt of Putin's speech was found, published on April 27, 2022 by the Russian state news agency Tass . In this speech, Putin warns of retaliation against “anyone from outside” who intervenes in the war in Ukraine.

The footage shared by Chinese users corresponds to the first 21 seconds of the Tass video, while the audio of Putin's speech corresponds to the first 27 seconds of the Tass video. In this speech, Putin is not talking about his alleged resignation, but about possible retaliation against anyone who interferes in the conflict in Ukraine: “If someone else decides to interfere in the current situation from the outside… he should know it… and yes ...if he poses an unacceptable strategic threat to us, he must know that our retaliation would be lightning-fast. We have all the resources to do this.”

The transcript of Putin's speech on April 27, 2022 can on the Kremlin's official website . At no point in his speech did Putin mention his alleged resignation.

Putin has signed legislation for additional terms in office

In addition to the fact that there are still no official reports about Putin's possible resignation or any plans to do so in 2023, the Russian leader signed a law in 2021. This enables him to remain the Russian head of state two more six-year terms Meanwhile, his current term would end in 2024.

Conclusion

The circulating video purporting to show Putin announcing his resignation as Russian leader is false. In fact, the video was edited together from two different speeches and given incorrect subtitles. As of the end of February 2023, there were no official reports of Putin's possible resignation or any plans to do so in 2023.

Source:

AFP

Further State of the Nation Speech by Putin
On February 21, 2023, Putin gave an important speech to parliament in which he emphasized the West's guilt in the war in Ukraine and announced the decision to abandon the nuclear weapons treaty with the USA called "New Start". to suspend. The speech received a lot of attention and was noticed worldwide. We have also published a fact check for this speech. You can find this HERE .