MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber planes performed combat training missions over the Barents Sea during joint military exercises with Belarus and practiced launching cruise missiles, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Russia and Belarus are wrapping up five days of war games, codenamed Zapad (West), in a show of force that they say is designed to test combat readiness.

The drills – taking place days after Polish and NATO forces shot down Russian drones that entered Polish airspace – have unnerved some neighbouring countries. Poland has temporarily closed its border with Belarus as a precaution.

WHAT DO THE ZAPAD EXERCISES INVOLVE?

The Russian defence ministry said the nuclear-capable bomber planes flew over neutral waters of the Barents Sea, north of Scandina

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