Russia to step up long-range bomber patrols from Arctic to Caribbean

The Russian military is to increase its long-range bomber patrols, from the Arctic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu said long-range patrols will now be conducted on a regular basis. The move comes after NATO reported a spike in Russian military flights over the Black, Baltic and North seas as well as the Atlantic Ocean. It reflects Moscow’s increasingly tough posture amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.

In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu

Mr Shoigu said Russian long-range bombers will fly along Russian borders and over the Arctic Ocean. Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers made regular patrols across the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans during the Cold War. However, economic restraints in the early post-Soviet era forced the military to cut back. The flights were resumed after President Vladimir Putin came to power and have become increasingly frequent in recent years.

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