Putin lord of war meme

Kremlin spokesman Peskov says that Putin's statement -- due tonight -- will "without exaggeration, will determine the fate of Russia". He told pool journalists that the whole day was devoted to preparing Putin's statement.

I would imagine all the risks around this speech are tilted towards risk aversion.

Update: It was said to be pre-recorded and may be released within minutes. There's talk that Belarus' President could speak at the same time or shortly afterwards.