EXCLUSIVE: Fright Christmas! How Vladimir Putin's Brutal Christmas Message Sparked World War 3 Fears — While Trump's Provoked Disgust
Putin’s Christmas message rocked the world during Christmas.
Dec. 29 2025, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
Mad Vladimir Putin showed he is the ultimate Scrooge – by sending World War Three fears stratospheric with a Christmas nuclear bombers launch to threaten the West, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The despot sent his ultra-noisy Tu-95MS planes, known as "Bears," on a long-range flight over the holiday, which saw NATO forced to scramble warplanes to monitor the mammoth crafts.
A Holiday Sneak Launch
Putin launched nuclear bombers over Christmas and sent NATO scrambling.
His festive power play flight appeared a deliberate bid to wind up the West as it was over the Norwegian sea, close to Santa's flight path from the North Pole.
Moscow's defense ministry declared, as tensions also rose over the war in Ukraine, "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."
Su-33 fighter jets from the Russian Navy escorted the long-range Tupolevs, first flown in the 1950s, and which remain a vital strand of Putin's nuclear triad.
Moscow's statement added: "At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries."
It declined to name which NATO air forces had intercepted the Tu-95MS aircraft. Unlike the U.K., Russia observes Christmas Day on January 7, according to the calendar used by the Orthodox Church.
Scaring the West
Russian 'Bears' roared over the Norwegian Sea and rattled the West.
The Norwegian Sea buzzed by Putin's bombers lies to the northeast of Scotland, between Norway and Iceland. Putin's Tupolevs are the world's only propeller-powered strategic bombers.
The planes have also been used to launch horrific conventional missile strikes, causing widespread death and destruction in Ukraine.
Putin will have bombarded the country for four years if his attacks on the nation stretch into February.
His NATO scare tactic came as Russian air defenses were forced to defend against a huge Ukrainian Christmas drone onslaught on Moscow.
The overnight attack started on Christmas Eve and continued throughout the night, forcing air defenses to shoot down weapons.
At least 140 Ukrainian drones were fired toward Russia, as Kyiv signaled it was willing to agree to the latest peace proposals.
Around 40 of the unmanned weapons were aimed at Moscow, which is also considering fresh peace plans.
'Radical Left Scum'
Trump raged online on Christmas Eve and sparked fresh fury.
The Christmas attack came as Ukrainians prepared to mark December 25 in a departure from their traditional Russian calendar.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now willing to pull troops out of Russia's eastern industrial heartland to end its conflict with the country.
But Russia has not indicated it will consider any withdrawal and insists Ukraine must give up the remaining territory it holds in the Donbas on the two nations' border. It's a demand Ukraine has rejected.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump was savaged for declaring his Christmas present to America was dismantling human rights.
The 79-year-old president fired off a demented festive greeting on his social media platform, attacking the "radical left scum" he reckons are destroying his nation.
He added in a rambling note to millions of Yanks – shared on Christmas Eve during a private party at his Mar-a-Lago compound: "Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly."
Trump's Holiday Broadside
Trump blasted out his festive message and ignited fresh outrage.
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Referring to his savage human rights policies, including on immigration, Trump added: "We no longer have Open Borders, Men in Women's Sports, Transgender for Everyone, or Weak Law Enforcement."
He then talked up his record on the economy and crime, babbling: "What we do have is a Record Stock Market and 401K's, Lowest Crime numbers in decades, No Inflation, and yesterday, a 4.3 GDP, two points better than expected." He added his much-hated tariff impositions have given 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 mockery.
One X user said they had "fixed" the festive note and posted an image of it blanked out below the caption.
Another social media user sneered: "Thank you Mr President, for this Christmas message of peace and unity." Many attacked him for bringing up human rights issues such as immigration and trans rights as "non-Christian".
One person vented: "Nothing more Christian than to be a hateful, wretched f--- on Jesus's birthday! Representing the faith well, Mr. President!"
Another said, "What would Jesus do? 'Cause I'm sure it isn't this." Others took to fact-checking Trump's claims, asking: "Excuse me, Mr. President, but what is a 4.3 GDP?"
Another critic wrote online: "Not to be that guy, but a 4.3 GDP isn't even possible. 4.0 is the highest you can get, and that's only if you get straight A's."
The U.S. economy did surge over the summer, seeing Gross Domestic Product rise at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent over 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 levies.
Trump's approval rating last month has plunged to a second-term low of 41 percent. And a survey from mid-December in the States found only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy.
Before posting his Christmas message, Trump played Santa by taking part in the traditional NORAD tracking program, fielding telephone calls from children across America who wanted to know how St Nick's journey was going.
Trump decided to conduct his conversations with youngsters on speakerphone, allowing journalists at Mar-a-Lago to hear the chats.
When one young caller asked about how to avoid getting coal in their stocking, Trump said: "You mean 'clean, beautiful coal'?" He added: "Coal is clean and beautiful, please remember that, at all costs."
