MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Two Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bombers have performed a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"During the flight, the crews covered a distance of about 4,500 km and stayed in the air for more than five hours," the statement runs.

Fighter jets of Russia’s Southern Military District escorted the bombers during the flight. Russian long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the Northern Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas and the Pacific Ocean, the ministry stated.

"The aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force perform all their flights in strict compliance with the International Rules of Using the Airspace," the Defense Ministry of Russia stressed.