Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda. "Good, we don't need anything foreign in our skies," says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room.
Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared the video, saying that Russia's "paranoia about the 'NATO threat' has reached new heights". Follow latest: Russia's aviation watchdog comments on Azerbaijani Airlines crash. . Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko reported that it was released after the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day - amid speculation it was shot down by Russian air defences.
Sky News has not yet been able to verify the timing of the video's release, which appeared on pro-Russian social media channels and not from an official source. Read more:Starmer condemns Russian strikes on UkraineProtests in Slovakia after PM meets with Putin.
Follow our channel and never miss an update. Be the first to get Breaking News. Install the Sky News app for free. The video begins with Santa, dressed in red, flying in a sleigh above the Russian capital, saying: "Ho, ho, ho! Hi Russians, here are your presents! Happy New Year!".
It then shows a missile blowing up the sleigh and cuts to the control room, where an alternative Father Christmas dressed in blue asks "Is that it?" and a man in uniform replies: "Yes, the target is destroyed.". "Good, we don't need anything foreign in our skies," the Santa says in response.
