"The Russian Aerospace Forces' Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers have conducted scheduled flights over the international waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering and Okhotsk seas," the press release read.
The ministry noted that two US F-22 fighters had escorted the Russian jets during some parts of the flight.
According to the press release, Russia's long range and naval aviation pilots regularly fly over the international waters of the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Black Sea, and the Pacific.
As part of the deep modernization of Tu-95MS aircraft, they will be equipped with engines and propellers with improved characteristics, new onboard radio-electronic systems and new armament control system "with an expanded list of used weapons," the Defense Ministry stated.
Tu-95 is a four-engine long-range strategic bomber developed by Russian aerospace and defense company Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1950s.
The current version is the Tu-95MS, which entered service in 1984.
NORAD Says Intercepted Russian TU-95 Bombers that Did Not Enter US, Canada Airspace
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement on Friday that it intercepted two Russian TU-95 bomber aircraft, but emphasized that those aircraft did not enter the US or Canadian airspace.
"At approximately 12 p.m. ET, on Saturday, September 1, two Alaskan-based NORAD F-22 fighters intercepted and visually identified two TU-95 'Bear' long-range bomber aircraft flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone [ADIZ], south of the Aleutian Islands. At no time did the Russian bombers enter Canadian or United States sovereign airspace," the release said.
NORAD said the Russian aircraft were intercepted and monitored by the F-22s until they left the area.
