Russia says prevent US bomber planes from violating state border

Russia said Sunday that it scrambled fighter jets to prevent two US strategic bomber planes from crossing its border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters prevented two US Air Force B-52N strategic bombers from violating the Russian state border, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.The US military routinely carries out flights over international waters, operations that it says are conducted in neutral airspace and in accordance with international law. But Moscow has responded more aggressively to the exercises in recent months, warning in June that US drone flights over the Black Sea risked leading to a “direct” military clash.
"On July 21, Russian means of airspace control over the Barents Sea detected a group of air targets approaching the Russian state border. In order to identify the air target and prevent the violation of the Russian state border, MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters were raised in the air. The crews of the Russian fighters identified the air target as two B-52N strategic bombers of the US Air Force," the ministry said.“As the Russian fighters approached, the American strategic bombers corrected their flight course, moving away and then turning away from Russia’s state border,” it said.