These images show NATO troops singing a Christmas carol in a show of unity as Moscow readies nukes.
The images were obtained from NATO on Wednesday, 14th December, along with a statement saying: “A multinational group of soldiers from NATO Allied countries – including Denmark, Latvia, Spain and the United States sing ‘Carol of the Bells’, a holiday classic composed by Mykola Leontovych and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky, in a snowy forest in rural Latvia.”
The images were also relayed by the Centre Air Command of the Ukrainian Air Force on Thursday, 15th December, along with a statement saying: “These days the world is honouring the memory of Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich.”
The Ukrainian Air Force added: “Unfortunately, the genius creator became a victim of bolshevik terror”, adding that his music had endured “despite all the efforts of the Kremlin leaders to erase his name from the history of Ukraine”.
They added: “Most of all, he was praised for the composition of the New Year’s-Christmas ‘Shedryk’, which every child can recognise by the first notes. But the tune became known long before it appeared in the movie ‘Home Alone’. It was performed by the choirs of Kyiv University and the orchestra of the troops of the Ukrainian People’s Republic at the beginning of the twentieth century.
“And now in honour of the invincible Ukrainian nation and the approaching winter holidays, our ‘Shedryk’ was sung by a choir of soldiers and sergeants of the NATO army.
“Let this song pour into every soul and family, giving Christmas mood and warmth!”
The NATO clip is in stark contrast to recent footage emerging from the Russian Ministry of Defence showing at least two ‘Yars’ mobile nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile systems being placed into launch silos in western Russia, with a third one being readied for combat, according to the Russian MoD.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 296th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 16th December, Russia had lost about 97,270 personnel, 2,980 tanks, 5,952 armoured combat vehicles, 1,946 artillery units, 410 multiple launch rocket systems, 211 air defence systems, 281 warplanes, 264 helicopters, 1,648 drones, 592 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,563 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 172 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a large-scale offensive in the New Year, with about half of the 300,000 recently mobilised Russian troops being prepared more thoroughly.
The other half have reportedly been used to reinforce Moscow’s existing positions in Ukraine.
The head of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, believes that Russia will attempt to capture Kyiv again, maybe in February or March, after having failed to take the Ukrainian capital earlier this year.
Russian shelling on Thursday killed two people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, including a Red Cross worker. The city has now also been completely cut off from the country’s power grid.
Sergei Karakayev, the Commander of Russia’s strategic rocket forces, has said that his country plans to double the number of test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles from four to eight next year.
Anton Gerashchenko, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said that a Russian airbase in Kursk was struck again by an “unknown drone” on Wednesday night.
The United States has said that it is planning to expand training in Germany of Ukrainian soldiers, increasing the number of troops it trains there to 500 per month.
The United States and its allies have so far trained over 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers since April.
President Zelenskiy has said that the next six months of the war with Russia will prove “decisive”.
He said: “The next six months will be decisive in many respects in the confrontation Russia started with their aggression.”
President Putin has said that Moscow plans to try to overcome the impact of Western sanctions by selling gas to its neighbours to the east and that Russia would seek to deepen its economic ties with Latin American, African and Asian countries.
