This is the moment two US aircraft were buzzed by Russian fighter jets in a tense encounter over the Black Sea.
Russia said it scrambled Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets on Tuesday after it detected 'air targets approaching Russia's state border' over the 'neutral waters' of the Black Sea.
Footage released by the Kremlin's defence ministry, apparently filmed from a Russian jet, reveals the 'targets' were two U.S. B-1B bombers and two KC-135 tanker planes that were refuelling them mid-air.
Russia said its planes 'turned away' the American aircraft from their border, before returning safely to base.
It is unclear where exactly in the Black Sea the encounter took place. Russia shares a direct border with the sea on its eastern shore, but also claims Crimea as part of its territory and enforces a border around it.
Western nations, including the US, maintain that Crimea is occupied Ukrainian territory - an assertion that continues to be a point of geopolitical tension.
The encounter came a day after Vladimir Putin launched a huge set of war games around Crimea, involving simulated beach landings and bombing drills using jets.
The latest encounter coincided with a visit to Ukraine by US defense secretary Lloyd Austin who said that Russia was an obstacle to peace in the country's east.
He called on Moscow to end destabilising activities in the Black Sea and along Ukraine's borders.
A similar incident with a B-1B occurred on Sunday over the Sea of Japan, just days after an incident with a U.S. naval destroyer, also in the far east.
B-1B bombers were developed during the Cold War and were originally designed to carry nuclear-tipped bombs, but these days carry conventional munitions.
They are used in exercises with NATO allies across Europe encompassing the Arctic, the Baltics and the Black Sea, Air Force Magazine reported earlier this month.
In the latest incident, the Russian defence ministry added that once the American aircraft had altered their course and the jets had 'escorted them over the Black Sea', the Russian pilots returned to base.
A similar incident occurred on Sunday over the Sea of Japan, just days after a Russian confrontation with a U.S. naval destroyer, also on Russia's Pacific coast.
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