Panicked Putin goes into hiding as Kremlin caught using 'pre-recorded' footage

Vladimir Putin appears to have gone into hiding amid the ongoing US-Israeli assault on Iran - with the Kremlin allegedly using pre-recorded footage to trick Russian citizens. State media broadcast two supposedly "new" videos of the Russian leader on March 2 and 3, using footage that had actually been recorded earlier, according to the investigative outlet Sistema. The meetings with Russian officials were presented by the Kremlin press service and loyal media as taking place on the days they aired, but analysts spotted a key giveaway detail - the houseplants in Putin's Kremlin office.

Sistema published a report on how the condition of two aglaonema plants in the background of the president's office videos could be used to identify when the footage was actually filmed last month. While the Kremlin quietly replaced the plants with new ones, seemingly in response to the investigation, the meetings aired earlier this month showed old, yellowing foliage, suggesting they were filmed earlier and recycled as Putin grapples with the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The US and Israel launched a huge military operation against Iran on February 28, striking targets in Tehran and other cities and killing the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Putin has closely allied himself to Iran's hardline government, cemented by a 20-year pact signed in January 2025 that covered military, economic and security cooperation.

The Russian leader continued normal diplomatic activity during the outbreak of conflict - holding phone calls with the leaders of the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Hungary, according to Kremlin briefings.

However, his PR machine released no photographs or videos of the Russian leader during those calls.

The apparent release of staged or delayed footage to conceal gaps in the president's public schedule could allow Putin to lie low as he decides on Russia's next moves following the major strikes aimed at topping his allies.

It wouldn't be the first time the Kremlin had been accused of using such a "canned footage" ploy, with Sistema finding 18 instances of "new" meetings being shown on Russian television using pre-recorded video in 2025 alone.

The latest instance has revived questions about the Kremlin's closely-managed presentation of Putin's activities, however, alongside suspicion that he prefers to keep a low profile during moments of major international crisis.