The Russian armed forces conducted a mission lasting more than eleven hours with Tu-95MS bombers and escort fighters over neutral waters, raising concerns in Tokyo about the increasing regional tension.
The Russian armed forces conducted an air patrol with Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan (also known as the East Sea), the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. The flight, which lasted more than eleven hours, was escorted by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighters belonging to the so-called "long-range aviation." According to the Ministry of Defense, Russian crews regularly carry out these types of operations in the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Black Sea, and Baltic Sea, complying, according to the statement, with international airspace regulations.
Long-range aviation also includes Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 bombers, aircraft that are part of the Russian nuclear triad and have the capacity to carry conventional missiles and bombs, including cruise missiles. In addition, Russia conducts similar maneuvers in the Asia-Pacific region, sometimes in collaboration with China, a situation that has raised concerns in the Japanese government, which interprets these actions as a show of force on its borders. Last December, Tu-95MS missile carriers and Hong-6K strategic bombers participated in a joint patrol over the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
The backdrop to these operations is the persistent territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over four of the Kuril Islands, located north of the Japanese archipelago and claimed by Tokyo since the end of World War II.
The recent Russian patrols and military exercises come against a backdrop of growing concern in Moscow regarding the evolution of Japanese defense policy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned at a press conference this week, while discussing Moscow's diplomatic achievements in 2025, that the ambition of certain Japanese political circles to move toward a remilitarization of society is a cause for concern for the Russian government. Lavrov emphasized that debates have gained momentum in Japan regarding amending the Constitution, not only with the goal of expanding offensive military capabilities, but also concerning a possible revision of the country's non-nuclear status.
"All of this is happening in the immediate vicinity of our borders, and considering the somewhat chaotic nature of the evolution of events in the international arena, this cannot but concern us," the foreign minister added.
The minister detailed that Russia is closely monitoring developments in political-military and strategic cooperation between Japan and the United States, as well as the increase in joint exercises that have also involved other NATO members.
Regarding the deployment of military capabilities in the region, Lavrov referred to the joint exercises conducted in September between the United States and Japan, during which the US Typhon medium-range missile system was deployed. The minister asserted that, although it was officially reported that the presence of these batteries would be temporary and limited to the exercises, according to information available to Moscow, the Typhon systems, designed to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles, have not been withdrawn from Japanese territory.
(With information from EFE)
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