Russia sends bombers on patrol over Belarus
The Hindu
This comes amid tensions with West
A pair of nuclear-capable Russian long-range bombers patrolled the skies over Belarus on a mission on Saturday intended to underline close defence ties between the two allies amid tensions with the West.
The Russian Defense Ministry said two Tu-22M3 flew a four-hour mission to practice “performing joint tasks with the Belarusian air force and air defence.” The bombers were escorted by Russia-supplied Su-30 jets.
Saturday’s Russian bomber patrol marked a third such mission since last month. The patrol flight comes amid Western concerns over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine.
The 29th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP29), held at Baku in Azerbaijan, is arguably the most important of the United Nations’ climate conferences. It was supposed to conclude on November 22, after nearly 11 days of negotiations and the whole purpose was for the world to take a collective step forward in addressing rising carbon emissions.