MOSCOW, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Two Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers have carried out a planned patrol flight over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The crews flew for more than five hours and covered a distance of about 4,500 km in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace, the ministry said in a press release.

Long-range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Caspian Seas, and the Pacific Ocean, it said.