Amid a rise in tensions, two Russian strategic bombers flew over the Sea of Japan.

The Russian Defense Ministry released video footage that they said showed two Tupolev Tu-95MS aircraft taking off and landing. Cockpit footage shows one of the planes escorted a Sukhoi Su-30SM jet fighter.

In a press release, the defense ministry stated that the 10-hour flight was planned over neutral waters of Sea of Japan. The Sea of Japan is surrounded by the Japanese Archipelago and the Russian Island of Sakhalin. It also borders the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.

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The statement from Tuesday didn’t specify where the test flight began and ended, or what exact route it took over water. Social media users pointed out that these flights are usually an act of Moscow’s strength.

Mario Nawfal, entrepreneur and citizen journalist, posted to 1.3M followers on X (formerly Twitter): “This is just days after the U.S. announced joint military exercises as a deterrent’ against North Korea’s perceived increased aggression.” “Is there a new front in Asia?

North Korea launched a medium-range missile on Tuesday. South Korea, Japan, and the United States conducted a joint aerial exercise using nuclear-capable B52H bombers a few hours later.

It comes less than two week after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of a solid fuel engine for a hypersonic intermediate range ballistic missile.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated on Monday that Moscow’s relationship with North Korea has been improving, as Pyongyang provided Russia with a wide range of military equipment, including missiles and more than three million artillery rounds.

Sergey Kobylash (Russian Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash), commander of long-range aircraft, said in a press release on the website of the Russian Defense Ministry that the flight was “performed in strict compliance with international rules regarding the use of the airspace”.

He added that “Long-range Pilots” regularly fly over neutral waters in the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean.

In March 2023, two Russian Tu-95MS planes flew for over seven hours above the Sea of Japan as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishhida began a visit to Ukraine.

Japan, an important U.S. allie that has joined the global sanctions against Russia due to the war in Ukraine has a territorial dispute dating back to World War II with Moscow regarding the Kuril islands in the north Pacific.

In February 2023 the North American air defense force intercepted several Russian strategic Bombers and fighter Jets while they were flying near Alaska in international space.