AFP, MOSCOW: Russia's navy Wednesday successfully fired two test inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) one month after aborting two attempts during military exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin.
The ICBMs were launched over a span of a few hours from the Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea and hit targets on Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula, Interfax reported.
The same test failed twice — once on February 17 and then the following day — in a humiliating sequences that soured Putin's presence at what had been billed as Russia's biggest war games in 20 years.
That episode came just weeks ahead of Putin's reelection and amid a campaign that the president focused closely on his ability to restore Russia's “great power” status.
On February 17, the missile never made it out of its shaft. The next day the test was abandoned seconds after the launch when the missile veered off course.
