MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers performed a scheduled flight over the Bering and Okhotsk Seas as part of a combat readiness inspection, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"As part of the surprise combat readiness inspection of the Pacific Fleet, a part of the Aerospace Forces and logistic support units, two Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers performed a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas," the ministry said in a statement.

The crews of the strategic bombers will continue aerial patrols in other areas, the ministry specified.

"During their patrol, the missile-carrying bombers conducted mid-air refueling from an Il-78 aerial refueling tanker," the ministry said.

Russian long-range aircraft carry out their flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace over neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states, the ministry stressed.

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s forces went on heightened alert on April 14 in a surprise combat readiness check. The naval sailors will exercise to prevent a potential enemy’s penetration into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, repel the landing of an adversary force on the Island of Sakhalin and the southern Kuril Islands, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu earlier reported.

The sudden combat readiness inspection commanded by Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Nikolay Yevmenov also involves some units of the Aerospace Forces. The sweeping drills are aimed at raising the preparedness of the Russian forces for "repelling a potential enemy’s aggression from oceanic and maritime directions." The exercise will also focus on operations by strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines.

As Defense Minister Shoigu reported on Monday, the Pacific Fleet’s surprise combat readiness inspection involves over 25,000 personnel and 167 combat ships and support vessels, including 12 submarines.