Putin hails test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russia's President Vladimir Putin congratulated the military Wednesday on successful test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, saying they would bolster the nation's security.
The military test-fired the experimental RS-24 missile with multiple warheads from the northern Plesetsk launch pad Tuesday and also conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a Northern Fleet nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov reported on the launches to Putin on Wednesday, saying that all of the test warheads had hit their designated targets on the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
"I would like to note their high precision," Serdyukov said.
Putin hailed the launches as "beautiful holiday fireworks behind which was big work by military experts and civilian engineers. ... Please congratulate them all, it was a serious step in strengthening Russia's defense capability," Putin told Serdyukov in televised remarks.