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".

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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.

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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.

(c) Sky News 2024: 'NATO Santa' shot down over Moscow in apparent Russian propaganda video