MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Russian strategic aircraft have performed scheduled flights over the neutral waters of the Baltic, Barents, Norwegian, East Siberian, Chukchi, Beaufort Seas and the Arctic Ocean, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The mission involved Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers, as well as Tu-22M3 long-range bombers," the Defense Ministry said.
"All flights were performed in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace," the Defense Ministry quoted Long-Range Aviation Commander Sergei Kobylash as saying.
"Long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean," Kobylash said.
The longest flight exceeded seven hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Sukhoi Su-35S, Su-27, MiG-31 fighter jets of the Aerospace Forces and naval aviation of the Navy escorted the aircraft," the ministry said in a statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry published footage of the flights.
The Tu-160, Tu-95MS strategic bombers and Tu-22M3 long-range bombers are part of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Long-range aviation aircraft are an aerial component of Russia's nuclear triad, but they can also deliver strikes with conventional missile and bomb weapons, including cruise missiles.
The Long-Range Aviation includes a regiment armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic airborne missile system based on MiG-31 aircraft, Kobylash said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper in December 2022.