Russian bombers fly over Belarus amid Ukraine tensions
India Today
Amid tensions over Ukraine, Russia on Saturday sent two of its Tu-22M3 bombers on patrol over Belarus.
Russia on Saturday sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over its ally Belarus amid spiralling tensions over Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the two Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interaction with the Belarusian air force and air defense assets during a four-hour mission.
The flight followed several similar patrols over Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.
READ: Ukraine-Russia crisis and rising fear of war: All you need to know
The mission came as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and the Far East to Belarus for sweeping joint drills. The deployment added to the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fuelling Western fears of a possible invasion.
Russia has denied plans of attacking its neighbour Ukraine, but urged the US and its allies to provide a binding pledge that they don't accept Ukraine into NATO or deploy offensive weapons and roll back the alliance deployments to Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO have rejected the demands.
The West has called on Russia to pull back an estimated 100,000 troops from areas near Ukraine, but the Kremlin has responded by saying it will station troops wherever it needs to on the Russian territory.
