Russia has staged nuclear drills off the north of Britain, as one of Vladimir Putin's leading lieutenants advocates for the use of atomic weapons.
Tu-160 supersonic strategic bombers conducted a 16-hour mission over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas.
F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters from Nato intercepted the Russian bombers at a moment of high tension as Russia's President Putin refuses to halt his war in Ukraine.
The Norwegian Sea lies north of Shetland, the UK's most northerly island grouping, between Norway and Iceland.
The Russian nuclear bombers were escorted by a MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft and the Tu-160s practised in-flight refuelling, the defence ministry in Moscow revealed early today.
