MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers conducted a scheduled flight over international waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
"Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ long-range aviation performed a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas. The flight lasted over seven hours. During the flight, the crews of the Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers practiced mid-air refueling. The crews of Su-30SM aircraft of the Aerospace Forces provided fighter support for the flight," the ministry said in a statement.
Foreign fighter jets escorted the Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers at some stages of their flight, the ministry reported.
"At some stages of their flight, the strategic bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign states. The crews of Russia’s long-range aircraft regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the Northern Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean, the Baltic and Black Seas. The aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Forces perform all the flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace," the ministry stressed.