Russia launches ballistic missiles

Moscow on 8-12 launched a transcontinental ballistic missile capable of penetrating the missile shield, confirming Russia's determination to strengthen military power.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted a missile force spokesman as saying the RS-12M Topol missile (also known as SS-25 Sickle) was successfully launched from Kapustin Yar, southern Russia.

" The test launch was conducted to confirm the stability of the flight and other technical features of the missile, " spokesman Alexander Vovk said.

He added that the experiment was to partially test new devices capable of penetrating missile shields. Russian generals have revealed that the country is developing weapons that can bypass any interception system that the US intends to deploy.

The Topol missile has a range of 10,000 km, carries a 550 kiloton nuclear warhead, 20.5 m long, has been designed since the 1970s and entered service in the military for the first time in 1982. -12 took place amid the US and Russia preparing to enter into a new round of talks about the shield system that Washington intended to place in Eastern Europe.

In another development, last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Russia's cease of participation in the European Military Force Control Agreement (CFE). That means Moscow can deploy troops closer to Western Europe than it does today. The law takes effect from the middle of this month.

This week, Russia announced it would quickly deploy naval forces back to the Mediterranean - for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian squadron consisted of 11 warships, including an aircraft carrier, supported by 47 aircraft, including strategic bombers.

T. Huyen