Steven Seagal has been filmed expressing his love and support for close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a lavish meal in Moscow on Sunday to celebrate his 70th birthday.

Video circulating on social media shows the former Hollywood action man giving a speech at the function on April 10, surrounded by several Russian elites targeted by Western sanctions amid Russia's war in Ukraine.

Dressed in his customary black shirt and yellow-tinted glasses, the action star declared to the pro-Putin audience: 'Each and every one of you, you are my family and my friends. And I love all of you and we stand together, through thick and through thin.'

Despite the West's united condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine, Seagal waxing lyrical about his love for his Russian comrades should come as no surprise.

A long-time friend of Putin, the American actor was granted a Russian passport in 2016, having vocalised his support for the annexation of Crimea two years prior, and was made Russia's special envoy to the US in 2018.

The pair have been pictured together on a number of occasions, and are thought to have bonded over their mutual love of martial arts.

Seagal is a longtime practitioner of aikido, while Putin is known to have studied judo and the Russian combat art of sambo from a young age. They have attended numerous sporting events together, and Seagal as recently as last year spoke at

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