News / Russia

Russia’s Putin personally oversees massive drills

Friday, 27 October 2017 12:36 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 27 October 2017 11:22 AM ]

This still taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows the test-launch of a Topol-type ballistic missile from the Plesetsk testing ground in the northwest of the country on October 26, 2017.

Russia has carried out major ballistic missile test-launches from “land, air and sea” as part of massive military drills that also involved Russia's strategic forces.

The Kremlin said on Friday President Vladimir Putin had taken part in the drills of the nuclear forces a day earlier and had personally directed the test-firing of four intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as part of the exercises.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the drills involved all elements of the military's nuclear triad — nuclear submarines, strategic bombers and a land-based launcher.

According to a statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry, a Topol-type ballistic missile, one of the country’s most sophisticated weapons, was fired earlier in the day from the Plesetsk testing ground in the northwest of the country and hit a designated target on the Kura testing grounds in Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia’s northwest.

It added that two of its nuclear missile submarines (SSBNs) had also launched three ballistic missiles -- two from the Pacific Fleet stationed in the Okhotsk Sea, north of Japan, and one from the Northern Fleet deployed in the Barents Sea, in the Arctic Ocean.

The missiles from the Pacific Fleet hit targets in the Chizha testing range in the northwestern region of Arkhangelsk, and the missile from the Pacific Fleet struck a target on the Kura testing grounds, the statement added.

The ministry further said Russia’s strategic Tupolec-160, Tupolev-85MS and Tupolev-22MZ bombers were also deployed in the drills to demonstrate their power as they launched air-based cruise missiles at ground targets in the Kura and Pemboi testing ranges, and one in Russian military terrain in Kazakhstan.

“All objectives of the training have been successfully completed,” the statement added.

PressTV-Russia begins major missile drills in Siberia

The Russian missile forces are testing the country's latest advanced missile in Southern Siberia.

Last month, Russia successfully test-launched a Topol missile equipped with a new advanced warhead. It was designed to penetrate the missile defenses of a potential enemy more effectively.

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