The big story: Russian TV cuts off Putin during rally
If there is one form of media Vladimir Putin can rely upon to toe his line, it is Russian state television. The Kremlin’s well-oiled and tightly controlled propaganda machine is unsurprisingly loyal to the president.
Yet today it cut his speech mid-sentence as he was addressing tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters at Moscow’s main football stadium as part of an anniversary of the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.
As the Russian leader addressed crowds, state television switched to showing a pre-recorded clip of musicians.
Watch the moment (below) Mr Putin was cut off, in what appeared to be a highly unusual mishap. A Kremlin spokesman later insisted that it was due to a “technical glitch on a server” and the full speech was eventually aired.
Footage from the concert appeared to show Mr Putin limping slightly as he slowly made his way off the stage at the end of his speech.
As Russia correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva reports, Mr Putin has rarely been seen in public in recent months – something that has sparked speculation about his ill health.
And Owen Matthews has been speaking to Evgeny Popov, the Russian state TV host whose prime-time talk show pumps out the Kremlin’s propagandist narrative to millions to ask: how does he defend the indefensible?
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Meanwhile, hundreds of women and children remain trapped under the rubble of the bombed Mariupol theatre, with an MP warning that they were “dying in the ruins”.
Only around 130 of more than 1,300 people thought to have taken shelter in the building before an air strike on Wednesday have been rescued, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said this afternoon.
He promised to continue attempting to save people from the ruins of the theatre “despite shelling” in the devastated southern city.
As president Xi Jinping today told fellow leader Joe Biden that China and the US are responsible for bringing the conflict in Ukraine to an end, follow rolling 24/7 updates in our live blog and see the latest conflict zones in our live map.
In other developments:
Foreign Office mutiny
Liz Truss is facing a Foreign Office mutiny after a senior diplomat resigned in protest at a departmental shake-up designed to prioritise its work on Ukraine. Staff were told the Russian invasion represents a “paradigm shift” for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and “changes the context” of its work. The department’s leadership is being reorganised to “shift our emphasis” to Ukraine, according to a message sent to staff, including the reinforcement of the senior team dedicated to the crisis. But the changes sparked division after Moazzam Malik “declined” a role in the restructuring. Lizzie Roberts and Tony Diver, our Whitehall correspondent, have our exclusive report.
The new ballet wars
While UK venues ban Russian troupes, top Bolshoi and Mariinsky dancers are heading West. There is, of course, a long and distinguished tradition of defections from East to West. But what is interesting about the new defectors (or those “re-defecting”, in the case of Xander Parish – the Yorkshire-born Royal Ballet alumnus who, 12 years ago, joined the Mariinsky and became a major draw) is both the similarities and the differences between them and their forebears. Mark Monahan reports on what is afoot in the art form at the forefront of Russian culture.
Comment and analysis
Friday big-read: The Klitschkos v the Kremlin
Like Volodymyr Zelensky and their countrymen, Kyiv mayor Vitali and his brother Wladimir Klitschko refuse to be bullied as they defend Ukraine. Guy Kelly and Gareth A Davies, our boxing correspondent, examine their no-nonsense approach. Read the feature.
Evening briefing: Today’s other essential headlines
Cost of living | Rishi Sunak has insisted the “last thing he wanted to do” as Chancellor was to raise taxes. He was speaking at the Conservative Party’s spring conference in Blackpool ahead of looming tax hikes – and before Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed Scottish Tories this afternoon. Meanwhile, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative chairman, declared the party had reached the “high water mark” in terms of taxation. Listen to his interview in today’s Chopper’s Politics podcast.
Sport briefing: Cheltenham Gold Cup first
Rachael Blackmore this afternoon became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup on A Plus Tard, bouncing back from a runner-up finish last year. Meanwhile, Rob Bagchi has the latest from the third day of West Indies v England in the second Test. And Lewis Hamilton promised Max Verstappen he will be “more aggressive” this year as he bids to win back his Formula 1 drivers’ title – as Lando Norris tells in an interview with us what it is like to be a successor to Hamilton’s crown.
Editor’s choice
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‘It’s parents your heart goes out to’ | Victoria Beckham and the pain of teenage break-ups
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The Midults | My partner has started dressing like a boy racer – but I only like him in suits
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Katie Morley Investigates | ‘My £62k electric car takes nine hours to drive up North’
Business briefing: How to beat Putin’s oil shock
The Duke of Cambridge has been urged to intervene with P&O Ferries owner DP World, a backer of his global environmental prize, and help 800 sacked ferry workers get reinstated. Read the latest updates on the saga that has seen the firm pitted against militant union bosses. In other news, the International Energy Agency said speed limits should be cut by 6mph and governments should introduce “car-free Sundays” to stave off the biggest oil shock for decades amid a supply crisis sparked by war.
Tonight starts now
Friday night is movie night and Robbie Collin, our film critic, has reviews of two (very different) options released today. First, The Phantom of the Open, an uproarious, Ealing-esque tale of a real-life golfing imposter that he gives four stars. Second, Paris, 13th District, a sultry love story which Robbie describes as seeing the birth of a new star in his five-star review. If you are staying at home, Ben Affleck stars in Deep Water, which streams on Amazon Prime Video from today. Enjoy!
Three things for you
And finally… for this evening’s downtime
Did Egon Schiele sleep with his sister? | The troubled Austrian artist was unusually close with his sibling – and his intense relationships with women shaped his brief, tragic life. Schiele’s paintings still fascinate and shock, finds novelist Sophie Haydock, as she examines if he crossed the line with his muses.
