Two American B-52 bombers flying in the direction of Russia were turned away by Moscow’s fighter jets. One of the US’s primary strategic aircraft, B-52s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 

On Sunday, Washington ordered two long-range bombers to conduct operations near the Russian border from Finnish airspace. The Kremlin reported that MiG-29 and MiG-35 fighters turned back the American nuclear-capable aircraft. 

“The crews of the Russian fighters identified the air target as two B-52N strategic bombers of the US Air Force,” the Defense Ministry said, adding that “when the Russian fighters approached, the US strategic bombers turned away from the Russian state border.”

Helsinki was recently added as the 31st member of the NATO alliance. Finland shares an 800-mile-long border with Russia. After Helsinki applied for NATO membership, President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was not opposed to Finland joining the bloc but would object to the alliance increasing its military presence in the Nordic region. 

Helsinki claimed the operations were “normal.” “Today, Finland has implemented cooperation with the strategic bombers of the United States in the territory of Finland,” Finnish defense minister Antti Häkkänen posted on X. “It is about the normal cooperation carried out in the territory of a NATO member country and the demonstration of the basic pillar of common defense, deterrence and defense.”

Over the past two decades, Putin has consistently voiced stern opposition to America’s increased nuclear posture in Europe. President Barack Obama placed missile launchers in Poland and Romania that are capable of firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles. 

At last week’s NATO summit in Washington, the bloc announced the US would deploy the same nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Germany. The Kremlin viewed the decision as highly provocative, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov saying Moscow could deploy its own strategic missiles in response.