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Disarmament DiplomacyIssue No. 17, July - August 1997Russia Tests New ICBMOn 8 July, Russia announced the successful test-firing - the final test in a series of four - of a new Incontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the Topol-M. The test was conducted at the Plesetsk site in northern Russia. The missile will now enter production.According to Colonel Ilshat Baichurin, Commander of Strategic Missile Forces: "The test showed that, despite insufficient funding, the priority programme of developing our missile forces is being carried out successfully... Today it is possible to say that in the 21st Century, Russia will remain in the ranks of the leading nuclear States, thereby helping to guarantee strategic stability in the whole world..." Report: Russia successfully tests ballistic missile, Reuters World Service, 8 July. © 1998 The Acronym Institute. |