Russia posts video of air defence shooting down Santa amid reports of Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Grozny
Russia has published a festive video of Santa Claus becoming a victim of Russian air defence against the backdrop of the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Grozny, with growing evidence pointing to Russian air defence as the cause.
Source: Russian social media channels; US Air Force Colonel Jeffrey Fischer on X (Twitter); Fatima Tlis, a journalist for Voice of America on X (Twitter)
Details: Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels shared a festive New Year’s video on 27 December in which the Russian Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) orchestrates a military operation to kill Santa Claus. According to the plot, Santa flies over New Year’s Moscow in a sleigh filled with "presents for Russians", holding a can of Coca-Cola in his hand.
"Happy New Year!" says Santa in English before being struck by a Russian missile launched by a military operator under the command of Ded Moroz.
"That’s it. Target destroyed," the air defence operator reports to Ded Moroz.
"Right! We don’t need anything foreign in our skies," Ded Moroz responds.
The video was published against the backdrop of reports that Russian air defence had allegedly downed a civilian Azerbaijan Airlines plane carrying nearly 70 passengers en route to a Russian airport in Grozny.
"Because human life is worthless to Russians, shooting down Santa (and Azeri Air) is funny. A holiday video circulating Moscow," former US Air Force Colonel Jeffrey Fischer wrote on X (Twitter).
Because human life is worthless to Russians, shooting down Santa (and Azeri Air) is funny.
— COL (Ret) Jeff in 🇦🇹 (@JeffFisch) December 27, 2024
A holiday video circulating Moscow. pic.twitter.com/wNBBcA8HPh
"With MH-17, and now the Embraer 190, the Russian air defence should make the downing of Santa their signature commercial. Russia should also consider designating Jesus a foreign agent, he fits perfectly into their foreign agent law," commented Fatima Tlis, a journalist for Voice of America who works on debunking Russian disinformation.
Background:
- On 25 December, an Embraer aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines en route from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau (the administrative centre of Kazakhstan's Mangistau Oblast). The crash killed 38 people.
- Rashad Nabiyev, Ministry of Digital Development and Transportation of Azerbaijan, said that eyewitness accounts and holes in the fuselage of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan indicate external influence.
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