Russian bombers spotted near California last week
Washington (CNN) -- Russian bomber aircraft were spotted last week off Alaska and then within 50 miles of California, military officials said.
Four long-range planes flew close to Alaska on June 4 where they were intercepted by U.S. F-22 fighter jets. Two peeled off and headed west, while the other two flew south and were identified by American F-15 fighters within 50 miles of the California coast.
Details were confirmed to CNN on Thursday by the Defense Department and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S.-Canadian force.
The United States believes the Russians were on a training mission, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said.
The planes, which included Tu-95 Bear-H bombers and refueling aircraft, never breached U.S. air space, Capt. Jeff Davis, a NORAD spokesman, said.
But they did enter the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone, which is an area extending 200 miles from the North American coast and is mainly within international airspace.
Commercial and other planes must identify themselves when they fly through that zone.
"They followed all the protocols and it was a very professional encounter on both sides," Davis said. "There was nothing that they were doing that was contrary to international law."
NORAD intercepts Russian bombers in the defense zone about 10 times a year, Davis said, though usually not near California.
Russian military planes were last intercepted off the coast of California on July 4, 2012, Davis added.
Ukrainian official: Russian tanks have entered the country
(CNN) -- Three Russian tanks and other military vehicles crossed the border into Ukraine on Thursday, prompting a skirmish between Ukrainian and Russian forces, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry told the BBC that the claim was "another fake piece of information."
According to Avakov, tanks crossed the border at a checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Armored vehicles and artillery were part of the columns, Avakov said, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
Two of the tanks split off and headed in the direction of Gorlovka, also known as Horlivka, and were attacked by Ukrainian military forces, Avakov said.
Part of that column was destroyed, he said.
CNN has not independently confirmed the incidents.
The countries have been engaged in a tense stand-off since March, when Russia annexed Crimea and massed troops along its border with Ukraine.
U.S. officials said in late May that thousands of Russian troops had withdrawn from the border. Thousands more who remained appeared to be preparing to depart, U.S. officials said at the time.
Western leaders have accused Moscow of fomenting instability in eastern Ukraine. Russian leaders say Ukraine has failed to move to implement a framework for peace worked out in Geneva, Switzerland, in April. They say Ukrainian leaders have carried out a campaign of violence against people living in the largely pro-Russian east.
Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin "held a substantial and long phone conversation," the Ukrainian President's media office said, but it was unclear if that conversation occurred before or after the reported tank incursion.
The leaders discussed Poroshenko's peace plan to resolve the situation in the east of Ukraine, the media office said
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Washington (CNN) -- Russian bomber aircraft were spotted last week off Alaska and then within 50 miles of California, military officials said.
Four long-range planes flew close to Alaska on June 4 where they were intercepted by U.S. F-22 fighter jets. Two peeled off and headed west, while the other two flew south and were identified by American F-15 fighters within 50 miles of the California coast.
Details were confirmed to CNN on Thursday by the Defense Department and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S.-Canadian force.
The United States believes the Russians were on a training mission, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said.
The planes, which included Tu-95 Bear-H bombers and refueling aircraft, never breached U.S. air space, Capt. Jeff Davis, a NORAD spokesman, said.
But they did enter the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone, which is an area extending 200 miles from the North American coast and is mainly within international airspace.
Commercial and other planes must identify themselves when they fly through that zone.
"They followed all the protocols and it was a very professional encounter on both sides," Davis said. "There was nothing that they were doing that was contrary to international law."
NORAD intercepts Russian bombers in the defense zone about 10 times a year, Davis said, though usually not near California.
Russian military planes were last intercepted off the coast of California on July 4, 2012, Davis added.
Ukrainian official: Russian tanks have entered the country
(CNN) -- Three Russian tanks and other military vehicles crossed the border into Ukraine on Thursday, prompting a skirmish between Ukrainian and Russian forces, acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry told the BBC that the claim was "another fake piece of information."
According to Avakov, tanks crossed the border at a checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Armored vehicles and artillery were part of the columns, Avakov said, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
Two of the tanks split off and headed in the direction of Gorlovka, also known as Horlivka, and were attacked by Ukrainian military forces, Avakov said.
Part of that column was destroyed, he said.
CNN has not independently confirmed the incidents.
The countries have been engaged in a tense stand-off since March, when Russia annexed Crimea and massed troops along its border with Ukraine.
U.S. officials said in late May that thousands of Russian troops had withdrawn from the border. Thousands more who remained appeared to be preparing to depart, U.S. officials said at the time.
Western leaders have accused Moscow of fomenting instability in eastern Ukraine. Russian leaders say Ukraine has failed to move to implement a framework for peace worked out in Geneva, Switzerland, in April. They say Ukrainian leaders have carried out a campaign of violence against people living in the largely pro-Russian east.
Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin "held a substantial and long phone conversation," the Ukrainian President's media office said, but it was unclear if that conversation occurred before or after the reported tank incursion.
The leaders discussed Poroshenko's peace plan to resolve the situation in the east of Ukraine, the media office said
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