Putin orders resumption of regular Russian long-range strategic bomber flights after 15 years

The Russian president made this announcement, evoking shades of the Cold War, Friday, Aug. 17, in the presence of China’s Hu Jintao at the end of the first joint Russian-Chinese war games exercise taking place on Russian soil. debkafile reports that a Russian military train transported Chinese units to the maneuvers from their common border in Mongolia.
Speaking near the Ural Mountain city of Chelyabinsk, Putin said a halt in the long-range bombers’ flights after the Soviet collapse had affected Russia’s security. The war games coincided with Russian air force maneuvers involving strategic bombers which flew over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans.