Russia flies two supersonic nuclear bombers over Norwegian Sea north of Scotland

Russia has flown two supersonic nuclear bombers over the Norwegian Sea, to the north of Shetland, in a stark warning to the West.

It comes hours after Vladimir Putin deployed his strategic aircraft over the Bering Sea, the body of water separating the US state of Alaska and Russia’s far-east.

The moves are seen as a display of military strength to the West as Russia prepares to mark the first anniversary of the disastrous war in Ukraine on February 24.

The giant Tu-160 White Swan flights follow ominous warnings from the Putin regime and its propagandists over the use of nuclear weapons if he loses the conventional war. 

It comes as NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels this week to discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and their commitment to defence spending.

Russia has flown two supersonic nuclear bombers over the Norwegian Sea, to the north of Shetland, in a stark warning to the West

The planes patrolled the Norwegian and Barents Sea in a 13-hour mission which included in-flight fuelling, said the Russian defence ministry.

‘Two Tu-160 strategic bombers have performed a scheduled flight in the airspace above neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian seas,’ it said a statement.

The Tu-95MS flights on Tuesday had been for seven hours.

In a rise in nuclear tension, the Norwegian Intelligence Service announced in its annual report that for the first time in three decades Russia began deploying ships with tactical atomic weapons in the Baltic Sea.

The nuclear-armed vessels are from Putin’s Northern Fleet, says reports.

The Tu-160 – NATO reporting name Blackjack – Russian supersonic variable-sweep wing strategic missile-carrying bomber dating from the Soviet era.

Along with the Tu-95MS bombers, these planes are the mainstay of Russia’s long-range aviation.

The Tu-160M is designed to strike enemy targets in remote areas with nuclear and conventional weapons.

Putin is enraged at the West’s supplies of weapons to Ukraine.

His war has cost the lives of more than 100,000 Russians, it is estimated.

NATO Defence Ministers meet at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The giant Tu-160 White Swan flights follow ominous warnings from the Putin regime

Earlier this week, two NATO fighter jets scrambled to intercept a formation of three Russian military aircraft near the Poland border.

Two Dutch F-35 fighters subsequently escorted the Russian planes out of the region, the Netherlands’ defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.

‘The then unknown aircraft approached the Polish NATO area of responsibility from Kaliningrad,’ the ministry said.

Kaliningrad is a Russian Baltic coast enclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania.

‘After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Dutch F-35s escorted the formation from a distance and handed over the escort to NATO partners.’

The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO’s reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are NATO’s reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft.

The Netherlands’ defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.