strategic bomber

The footage also showed a supersonic strategic bomber armed with missiles and an attack aircraft being prepared for takeoff.

However, the air force in Kyiv declared that it had brought down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber that was being used to fire supersonic Kh-22 cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities from the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Putin’s 30-minute flight in a Tu-160M supersonic strategic bomber also seemed intended to send a reminder of Russia’s nuclear might amid soaring tensions with the West over the fighting in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Mr. Putin reinforced the central role he believes Russia’s nuclear arsenal plays in the country’s defenses: Visiting an aviation factory, he climbed into the bomb bay of a Tu-160M strategic bomber, the most modern in the Russian fleet.

Earlier this year, a U.S. nuclear missile-armed submarine and a strategic bomber visited South Korea, prompting more angry responses from Pyongyang.