Russian Military Training Is Catching Everyone's Attention

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev visits cosmodrome Plesetsk, which is nestled among the taiga forests of Russia's north, October 12, 2008. REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Dmitry Astakhov

Russia Flexes Muscles With Volley Of Missile Tests
-- Reuters

MOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Russia test-fired two ballistic missiles and bombed a dummy town at the weekend, but analysts said the show of military preparedness was for domestic consumption and not a Kremlin warning shot to the West.

The exercises -- some overseen by President Dmitry Medvedev and all given extensive coverage on national television -- followed weeks of angry rhetoric between Russia and the United States over the August war in Georgia.

On Saturday, Medvedev watched the successful launch of a Sineva intercontinental missile from a submarine in the Arctic Barents Sea. It hit a virtual target near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, the first flight at this range.

The next day, Medvedev inspected the Plesetsk military cosmodrome in the north-west of Russia where he watched the test-launch of a Topol nuclear-capable missile which hit a target on Russia's Pacific coast.

Over the course of the weekend, 12 Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers took off for an exercise that involved launching multiple cruise missiles to pulverise a dummy town on a testing ground in the Arctic.

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My Comment: The Russians are now spending the money on their military. In the past, such live fire tests would not have occurred because of costs .... but in today's world that is no longer an obstacle.