Moscow. July 19. INTERFAX-AVN - The Russian Defense Ministry said that two Tu-160 strategic missile carriers performed a planned flight over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea.

"The duration of the flight was more than seven hours," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"All flights of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace," the military said. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Tu-160 was accompanied by long-range MiG-31 interceptors of the Russian Northern Fleet.

"Long-range aviation crews regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean," the military department noted.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday published footage of the flight of the Russian Tu-160.

The Tu-160 aircraft, as well as the Tu-95MS, are the air component of the Russian nuclear triad. They are designed to defeat the most important targets in the deep rear of the enemy with nuclear and conventional weapons.

In November 2017, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, said that Russia had increased the intensity of strategic aviation flights to the level that was under the USSR. "If we compare the achieved indicators since the Soviet Union, the intensity of long-range aviation flights is maintained at the same level. At the same time, the raid on the crew of the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers increased by 10% per year," Gerasimov said at the time.