Russia has said that it has continued carrying out exercises involving its Tu-95MS nuclear-capable bombers near Alaska.
Russia said yesterday (Tuesday, 14th Feb) that it had flown two of its Tu-95MS strategic missile bombers near Alaska over neutral waters in the Bering Sea.
Russia now says it has carried out another flight involving two Tu-95MS planes flying for over seven hours over the neutral waters of the Chukchi and Okhotsk Seas.
The images show the Russian aircraft preparing for takeoff before it can be seen taking to the skies.
Russian fighter jets can then be seen taxiing on the runway before they too take to the skies to escort the strategic bomber.
The images then show the Russian aircraft flying high in the sky above the clouds, with the footage also showing the pilots and flight crew operating the aircraft before it is seen coming in to land again as the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday, 15th February, along with a statement claiming: “Two Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers performed a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Chukchi and Okhotsk Seas.
“The total duration of the flight was more than 7 hours.
“Fighter escort was provided by the crews of Su-30 aircraft of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of the Eastern Military District.
“The day before, two Tu-95MS aircraft flew over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea. And also, two Tu-160 strategic missile carriers flew over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas, with a total duration of more than 13 hours.
“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.
“All flights of aircraft of the Aerospace Forces of Russia are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 357th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 15th February 2023, Russia had lost about 139,770 personnel, 3,290 tanks, 6,507 armoured combat vehicles, 2,303 artillery units, 466 multiple launch rocket systems, 236 air defence systems, 298 warplanes, 286 helicopters, 2,011 drones, 857 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,161 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 219 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
NATO members are meeting in Brussels today for the final day of a summit to discuss military support for Ukraine.
Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, has taken part in the discussions in Brussels and he said that his current objectives included the protection of Ukraine’s airspace, as well as “strengthening the tank coalition”, securing enough ammunition, and setting up further training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, among other goals.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of NATO, has urged members to increase the production of ammunition for Ukraine and cautioned that Russia was preparing for new offensives.
He added that discussions regarding supplying Ukraine with fighter jets were on the agenda but that it was “not the most urgent issue now”.
General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that Russia has lost “strategically, operationally and tactically”, adding that Moscow was “paying an enormous price on the battlefield”.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said that he expects that Ukraine will carry out an offensive against Russia in the spring.
Austin added that while Russia is introducing new troops onto the battlefield, many of them are poorly trained and poorly equipped.
Austin also said that Russia had “inflicted a year of tragedy and terror” on Ukraine.
Boris Pistorius, the German Minister of Defence, said on Tuesday that while providing Ukraine with combat aircraft was not currently a focus, it would certainly be discussed and securing airspace over Ukraine is a priority.
He said: “Only when the skies over Ukraine remain safe over the next three, four months, then you can talk about all other further steps.”
Pistorius said that Germany has agreed with defence company Rheinmetall to resume producing ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns, which Germany decommissioned from its own military in 2010 but which it has been providing to Ukraine.
Pistorius said: “We will quickly start our own production of Gepard ammunition at Rheinmetall. I am very happy we have been able to guarantee the delivery of this important part of air defence.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, the infamous Russian mercenary organisation, has said that the battle for Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to take for six months, is far from over.
Prigozhin claimed Ukraine was reinforcing the area with up to 500 new soldiers every day.
He added: “Bakhmut will not be taken tomorrow, because there is heavy resistance and grinding, the meat grinder is working.”
Prigozhin also said: “We will not be celebrating in the near future.”
The White House has said that Russian forces have made some progress in the last days with their assault on Bakhmut but it is currently unclear if they will manage to take it.
The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said that if Bakhmut were to fall, “it would not have a strategic impact on the overall war.”
A British national has died in Ukraine, according to the British government. Their identity is not yet known but that would reportedly make them the eighth Briton to have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war in February 2022.
