Putin’s cheeky Christmas message fuels fears of World War III

His festive power-play flight appeared to be a deliberate attempt to reach the West as it lay over the Norwegian Sea, close to Santa’s flight path from the North Pole.

The Moscow Ministry of Defense, as tensions also increased over the war in Ukraine, stated: “Tu-95MS long-range bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces made a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The flight duration was more than seven hours.”

Russian Navy Su-33 fighter jets escorted the long-range Tupolevs, which first flew in the 1950s and remain an essential part of Putin’s nuclear triad.

Moscow’s statement added: “On certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets from abroad.”

It declined to name which NATO air forces had intercepted the Tu-95MS aircraft. Unlike Britain, Russia celebrates Christmas Day on January 7, according to the calendar used by the Orthodox Church.

The Norwegian Sea, buzzing with Putin’s bombers, lies northeast of Scotland, between Norway and Iceland. Putin’s Tupolevs are the world’s only propeller-driven strategic bombers.

The planes have also been used in horrific conventional missile attacks, causing widespread death and destruction in Ukraine.

Putin will have bombed the country for four years if his attacks on the country last until February.

His NATO scare tactic came as Russian air defenses had to defend against a massive Ukrainian Christmas drone attack on Moscow.

The night attack began on Christmas Eve and continued throughout the night, forcing air defenses to down guns.

At least 140 Ukrainian drones were fired towards Russia as Kiev signaled its willingness to agree to the latest peace proposals.

About 40 of the unmanned weapons were aimed at Moscow, which is also considering new peace plans.

Referring to his fierce human rights policies, including on immigration, Trump added: “We no longer have open borders, men in women’s sports, transgender for all or weak law enforcement.”

He then talked about his record on the economy and crime, babbling: “What we do have is a record stock market and 401Ks, the lowest crime rates in decades, no inflation, and yesterday a GDP of 4.3, two points better than expected.” He added that his hated tariff impositions have brought America “trillions of dollars in growth and prosperity.”

Trump signed off: “We are respected again, perhaps like never before. God bless America!!! President DJT.” His message was immediately met with a flood of memes and ridicule.

One X user said they ‘fixed’ the festive note and posted an image of it below the caption.

Another social media user sneered: “Thank you, Mr President, for this Christmas message of peace and unity.” Many attacked him for raising human rights issues such as immigration and trans rights as “non-Christian.”

One person vented: ‘Nothing more Christian than being a hateful, miserable bastard on Jesus’ birthday! Represent the faith well, Mr. President!”

Another said, “What would Jesus do? Because I’m sure it’s not this.” Others fact-checked Trump’s claims, asking, “Excuse me, Mr. President, but what is a GDP of 4.3?”

Another critic wrote online: “I don’t mean to be like this, but a gross domestic product of 4.3 isn’t even possible. 4.0 is the highest you can get, and that’s only if you get good grades.”

The US economy experienced tremendous growth over the summer, with gross domestic product rising 4.3 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.

But polls show Americans have soured on Trump’s handling of the economy and his tariffs, with the Supreme Court currently considering legal challenges to the highly controversial duties.

Trump’s approval rating fell to a second-term low of 41 percent last month. And a mid-December survey in the United States found that only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Before posting his Christmas message, Trump played Santa Claus by participating in the traditional NORAD tracking program, fielding calls from children across America wanting to know how St. Nick’s journey was going.

Trump decided to conduct his conversations with young people on loudspeaker, so that journalists at Mar-a-Lago could hear the conversations.

When a young caller asked how he could avoid getting coal in his stocking, Trump said, “You mean ‘clean, nice coal’?” He added: “Coal is clean and beautiful, please remember that at all costs.”