Russia says it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that can be equipped with nuclear warheads. The Russian army announced this on Sunday.
The test was carried out with a Boelava missile, which has a range of 8,000 kilometers. They were visible in the White Sea from the nuclear submarine Alexander III and hit ‘as planned’ at a test site in the eastern Kamchatka region. The statement did not immediately reveal when the test launch took place.
About twenty years ago, the Russians started the first tests with their Boelava rocket. It was then to become ‘an important part of the Russian atomic force’. It was designed for a range of ten thousand kilometers and would carry six nuclear warheads that could be aimed at different targets, in order to ‘penetrate any defense’.
Putin has been significantly increasing nuclear pressure for some time now, just ten days ago Russia conducted a major nuclear simulation with a Jars and Sineva missile.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The Alexander III submarine is one of three new Russian nuclear submarines, each carrying 16 Bulava missiles and intended to serve as the main naval component of the country’s nuclear forces for decades to come. According to the Ministry of Defense, the launch of a ballistic missile is the final test for the ship, after which a decision must be made on its inclusion in the fleet.
Just a few days ago, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would withdraw its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). That UN treaty, which dates from 1996, prohibits any form of nuclear explosion. Putin had taken the initiative for the withdrawal ‘to restore the balance with the United States’, as he himself explains. Washington also signed the treaty, but never ratified it.
Tags: Russia conducts successful missile test intercontinental ballistic missile
