MURMANSK, February 27. /TASS/. Participants in the Rossiya 360 expedition, the first continental expedition along Russia's coastal borders, met on the Yenisei River the Ural nuclear-powered icebreaker, which accompanied the travelers along a part of their route, Rosatomflot (Russia's nuclear fleet) reported on its website.

The Ural was sailing towards the port of Dudinka when the routes of the vessel and of the expedition met, the icebreaker's Captain Viktor Suryadov said. "Such meeting in the Arctic are only rare. We were lucky to manage a short sightseeing tour around the icebreaker. We wish the travelers good luck. Whenever needed, we will be always ready to help," the report quoted the captain as saying.

"It was not for the first time that I have met icebreakers during expeditions, but every time a meeting with an icebreaker is an exciting and long-awaited moment. Last time, it was the Taymyr icebreaker, that gave us a lift as the expedition on the way back headed for Dudinka, and this time the Ural nuclear-powered icebreaker has escorted us in the Arctic, and then each of us followed own route. The icebreaker - to the destination port of Dudinka, and we - to the North - to Cape Chelyuskin," Atomflot quoted the expedition's leader Bodgan Bulychev.

The Rossiya 360 first continental expedition kicked off from Murmansk in late January. The plan is - in December 2024, the team will return to Murmansk, having traveled on wheeled vehicles along all the land borders of Russia, thus having covered more than 33,000 km across Russia's 58 regions. The expedition plans to set two records, and to collect material for several films. Pictures and stories by the expedition participants will be published in a book for children. Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the Rossiya 360 Expedition.