Did Family Guy 'predict' Vladimir Putin's Ukraine strategy?

The Simpsons is well known for making uncanny predictions, but people online are pointing out that Family Guy can be pretty prophetic too.

Social media users have been sharing a timely clip from the show which features a depiction of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and it seems to sum up his approach to the current situation in Ukraine pretty accurately.

For context, after mounting tensions saw Russian forces amass near the Ukrainian border over recent times, Putin appeared to offer hope of peace after Russia announced that it had begun to withdraw troops recently.

However, the west is now accusing Moscow of failing to carry out any genuine de-escalation.

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The Russian president has said he does not want war in Europe and is willing to continue diplomatic discussions over the current tension over Ukraine.

Did Family Guy predict the rising tensions 13 years ago?Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images

But prime minister Boris Johnson said that the latest intelligence on the situation on the ground is “not encouraging”, with evidence of army formations being brought closer to the border and field hospitals being built in Belarus.

It’s pretty terrifying stuff, but the back and forth has led some online to take a slightly more light-hearted view of the situation and dig up a clip from the Seth MacFarlane comedy which seems to sum up Putin’s actions.

A scene from season eight episode 'Spies Reminiscent of Us' has been circulated online, showing Putin pulling out weapons and preparing to shoot characters Brian and Stewie, only to de-escalate at the last minute.

The clip was posted by one user, who accompanied it by writing: “Putin's Ukraine Strategy.”

So, while Family Guy didn’t quite predict escalating tensions on the Ukrainian border, it does seem to have captured the feel of the moment pretty accurately.

It comes after Putin was recently asked directly whether he could rule out war in Europe. The president replied: “Of course, we don’t want it. This is exactly why we have put forward the proposal to start the negotiation process, where the result should be an agreement ensuring equal security for everyone, including our country.

“Unfortunately there was no constructive response to this proposal.”

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