Russia says strategic bombers made planned flight over Baltic Sea, Interfax reports

Russian ​Tu-22M3 strategic bomber planes, ​escorted by ‌fighter jets, ​carried out a planned flight over neutral waters ‌of the Baltic Sea, Russian news agencies quoted the Defence Ministry as saying on ‌Friday. Foreign fighter jets escorted the bombers during ‌parts of the flight, which lasted over four hours, the ministry said without specifying the reason ⁠for ​the ⁠mission.

Russia periodically stages such flights to keep its nuclear-capable ⁠forces in a state of readiness and ​as a show of strength. Tensions are high ⁠in the Baltic region, where Russia warned NATO ⁠last ​month that it would be ready to resort to nuclear weapons if ⁠the Western alliance attempted to cut off the ⁠Russian exclave ⁠of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania.