Russian President Vladimir Putin is portrayed as Santa in an anti-Western propaganda video

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as Santa in an anti-Western propaganda video released on the country's social media.

The film - made by a production company called Signal - depicts 'Santa Putin' swapping a photograph of a child's same-sex parents for one of a mother and father, and gifting the boy being raised as a girl a football, toy cars and a drum kit.

The video feeds into Russian prejudices about Europe and the United States which have been fuelled by pro-Kremlin propagandists during the war in Ukraine to frame the conflict as a clash of values between Russia and Ukraine's western allies.
The clip has been surging on social media in Russia since it was posted, providing a propaganda boon for the Russian leader as it was embarrassingly revealed China's Xi Jinping demanded a written explanation from Putin on when he plans to end his war in Ukraine, and as his war stretched past its 300th day.