MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/: Two Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of Russia’s Aerospace Force performed a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the north-western part of the Pacific Ocean, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Tuesday.
"The flight lasted more than nine hours," the ministry said in a statement.
At some stages of their route, the Russian bombers were shadowed by fighters of the Japanese Air Force, the ministry said.
Pilots of Russia’s long-range aircraft perform regular flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the Northern Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas and the Pacific Ocean, the ministry stressed.
"The aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force perform all flights in strict compliance with the International Rules of Using the Airspace," the ministry said.