MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Two Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers carried out an air patrol over the Black Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"Two Tu-22M3 long-range bombers of the Aerospace Force carried out a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Black Sea," the ministry said in a statement.

At some sections of the route, "the long-range aircraft were escorted by Romanian Air Force MiG-21 planes," the statement says.

The flight of the Russian Tu-22M3 bombers lasted more than five hours and the aircraft covered a distance of about 4,500 kilometers, the ministry specified.

The pilots of Russian long-range aircraft regular perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the Northern Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean and the Black and Baltic Seas, the ministry said.

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.

Ukrainian-US drills in the Black Sea

The Ukrainian-US exercise Sea Breeze-2020 kicked off in the Black Sea on July 20. The exercise involves about 2,000 personnel from nine countries, including over 20 ships, and also aircraft and helicopters.

Apart from Ukraine and the United States, the forces from Bulgaria, Georgia, Norway, France, Romania, Span and Turkey will participate in the exercise Sea Breeze-2020 that will involve the US Navy guided missile destroyer Porter and P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare patrol plane, and also ships of NATO’s standing maritime group.

The active phase of the drills is running in the north-western part of the Black Sea.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on July 22 that the Black Sea Fleet was monitoring ships and aircraft of the NATO allied naval forces involved in the Sea Breeze-2020 exercise.