• Japan scrambled jets in response, says Defense Ministry

MOSCOW/ISTANBUL

The Russian Defense Ministry announced Friday that two Tu-95MS long-range strategic missile carriers have successfully completed an 11-hour flight over the Sea of Japan.

Russian Aerospace Forces' Su-35S and Su-30SM aircraft provided fighter escorts, according to a ministry statement.

"Strategic bombers Tu-95MS of the long-range aviation conducted a scheduled flight in the airspace above neutral waters of the Sea of Japan. The duration of the flight exceeded 11 hours," the statement read.

During certain segments of the flight, the strategic missile carriers were escorted by foreign fighters, it noted.

The ministry emphasized that all operations of the Russian Aerospace Forces adhere strictly to international airspace regulations.

It also stressed that long-range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean.

Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The statement included a map demonstrating the path of the Russian jets.

"While Russia is invading Ukraine, it also actively conducts military activities around Japan," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on the US social media company X.

Strategic missile carrier bombers Tu-95MS are part of the long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the air component of the nuclear triad consisting of aircraft, submarines, and intercontinental ballistic missiles.