MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bombers conducted a planned flight over international waters of the Baltic Sea accompanied by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter aircraft, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.
"Tu-22M3 long-range bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted a planned flight in the airspace over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. Su-35S and Su-30SM aircraft of the Aerospace Forces provided fighter support during the flight," the ministry said in a statement.
The flight lasted over four hours and at some stages of the flight the Tu-22M3 long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign states, it said.
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 ministry said.
"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.