Moscow - The flight of two Russian nuclear-capable bombers to South America this week is proof that "any region in the world" is within reach of the country's long-range bomber fleet, Russia's air force commander said on Thursday.
"We have tested ourselves, and our bombers are capable of making flights to any region in the world," Colonel General Pavel Androsov told a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
The TU-160 bombers, known as "Blackjack" by their NATO codename, were not equipped with nuclear weapons when they landed in Venezuela on Wednesday for a four day stay ahead of joint naval exercise in the Caribbean.
Androsov said in the televised briefing the planes carried only dummy missiles.