Russia has reportedly tested a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US. The country's defence ministry said the missile was fired from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the North-west Arkhangelsk region and reached its target at the Kura test site in the far eastern Kamchatka region.
Exercises declared successful
Russia's Strategic Missile Forces also practice moving the launch battery on a mobile ground-based missile system to a remote area in preparation for the launch. The Ministry of Defence said the exercises were successful, but did not specify which missile was used, saying only that it was "solid fuel".
This categorisation includes the Topol and Yars missiles, both with a range of 10,500km, meaning they could reach the US from Russia. Topol has a single 800-kiloton warhead, while Yars has four 250-kiloton warheads. According to estimates, Russia has 271 of them in total - 78 Topols and 193 Yars - which form the basis of its 321-strong land-based missile arsenal.
CIA director visits Moscow
This came after the director of the CIA made a surprise visit to Moscow after US intelligence discovered that Russia is planning to test NATO. John Ratcliffe took his first public trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday amid fears the country is preparing for a possible military mobilisation in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The outlet added that, according to US intelligence, Russia is planning to test NATO's resolve. Analysts suggested that Mr Ratcliffe may have met with Vladimir Putin to deliver a warning against any such action.
He also reportedly asked Ukraine to halt strikes on Russia during the visit, which was discovered after a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane and diplomatic motorcade were spotted at a Moscow airport. The US Air Force RCH4555 flight was also spotted entering Russia from Latvia, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24. In another update, Flightradar24 said the "US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport".
