"Two Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers of the long-range air force performed a scheduled sortie in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan. The flight lasted for more than seven hours," the defense ministry said.
The bombers were escorted by Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter jets of the eastern Russian military district's air and missile defense forces.
The mission coincides with an interception of two US B-52 strategic bombers over the Russian waters in the Baltic Sea on Monday night. A Su-35 fighter jet was scrambled to chase the planes away.
Russian long-range pilots fly routinely over neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Caspian seas, and the Pacific Ocean. All flights are carried out in strict accordance with the International Airspace Management System, without violating the borders of other states, the ministry said.