Video: Putin’s Christmas nuclear bomber raid rattles NATO as ‘Bears’ provoke scrambles near UK skies
Abdullateef Fowewe
Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched nuclear-capable Tu-95MS “Bear” bombers on a provocative Christmas Day flight over the Norwegian Sea, threatening northern Britain and forcing NATO to scramble warplanes for interception.
Video: Putin’s Christmas nuclear bomber raid rattles NATO as ‘Bears’ provoke scrambles near UK skies
The hulking, propeller-driven aircraft – the world’s only turboprop strategic bombers, first flown in the 1950s – conducted a “scheduled flight” lasting over seven hours in neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas, according to Moscow’s defence ministry.
“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 statement read.
According to the Mirror, NATO pilots shadowed the mission, with Russia noting, “At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries.”
The route skirted northeast of Scotland, between Norway and Iceland, in what appeared a deliberate jab close to Santa’s mythical North Pole path. Su-33 fighters escorted the bombers, amplifying the show of force from Putin’s nuclear triad.
It was gathered that these same “super noisy Tupolevs” have launched devastating conventional strikes in Ukraine, including a recent barrage of 51 missiles and 653 drones that crippled civilian infrastructure.
The assault triggered widespread blackouts and heating failures amid sub-zero temperatures, with a direct hit on a thermal power plant in Kryvyi Rih – birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Just weeks prior, NATO jets scrambled after one of Putin’s harshest missile onslaughts.
