Russia tests second nuke missile in week
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, November 8, 1999
MOSCOW -- Russia, which opposes a revision of a 1972 missile treaty
with the United States, has test-fired a nuclear missile for the second time
this week.
Russian officials said the SS-21 missile was fired on Thursday, in a
test to determine its effectiveness. They said the missile was fired at the
main range at Kapustin Yar in southern Russia.
The SS-21 is designed for tactical strikes. On Tuesday, the Strategic
Rocket Forces fired an anti-missile weapon for the first time in six years.
Strategic Rocket Forces chief Vladimir Yakovlev said the SS-21 test was
successful and its shelf-life would now be extended to 22 years. The
missile, known as Scarab by NATO, has already been deployed for more than 20
years.
The missile launches come as Russia opposes U.S. appeals for a revision
of the 1972 ABM Treaty to allow Washington to develop a national missile
defense system. Yakovlev told RIA news agency that if the United States
violated the ABM pact Russia would be "freed from all obligations and the
situation could become unpredictable."
Monday, November 8, 1999
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