MOSCOW. Dec 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The Yekaterinburg nuclear- powered submarine of Russia's Northern Fleet launched a ballistic missile from a submerged position in the Barents Sea on Friday, Colonel Igor Dygalo, aide to the Navy commander-in-chief, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The submarine under command of Colonel Andrei Pavlovsky launched the missile at 2:00 p.m. Moscow time (1000 GMT), Dygalo said. The launch was performed in order to check combat readiness of sea-based strategic nuclear forces and in accordance with combat training plans, he said.
"The missile's warhead arrived at the Kura training ground in the vicinity of Kamchatka precisely on time," Dygalo noted.
Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov thanked the submarine's crew and commander "for advanced professionalism and combat skills."