From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Russian bombers fly over Belarus amid Ukraine tensions
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleRussia sends a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over its ally Belarus amid spiraling tensions over Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry says that the two Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interaction with the Belarusian air force and air defense assets during a four-hour mission. The flight followed several similar patrols over Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.
The mission comes as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and the Far East to Belarus for sweeping joint drills. The deployment added to the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fueling Western fears of a possible invasion.
Russia has denied plans of attacking its neighbor Ukraine, but urged the US and its allies to provide a binding pledge that they don’t accept Ukraine into NATO or deploy offensive weapons and roll back the alliance deployments to Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO have rejected the demands.
The Times of Israel Community.