Russia tests long-range missile fired from submarine

Russia test-fired a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile from a submerged submarine in the far-northern Barents Sea on Wednesday as part of a check on the reliability of the navy's strategic forces, the Defense Ministry said. The move follows alleged Russian testing of a cruise missile last summer,  and a far-reaching $355 billion upgrade of the U.S. nuclear weapons fleet over the next decade ordered by President Barack Obama.

The liquid-fueled Russian ICBM, which can carry nuclear warheads, was fired from the Tula submarine to the Kura Test Range in the far eastern Kamchatka region, the RIA news agency quoted the ministry as saying. It gave no other details.

The Sineva, which has a range of about 7,500 miles, entered service in 2007 and is part of efforts to prevent the weakening of Russia's nuclear deterrent.

President Vladimir Putin has underlined the importance of the nuclear deterrent during the standoff with the West over the conflict in Ukraine, and during the Ukraine crisis Russia has held several military exercises that have alarmed Western powers. President Obama, for his part, has initiated a massive modernization program of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Al Jazeera and Reuters