RUSSIA last night provoked fresh fears of a Cold War by boasting it has tested a new long-range nuclear missile. Moscow’s military chiefs revealed their Topol intercontinental stealth rocket had been fired successfully.The chilling declaration was aimed at sparking international alarm about the conflict in the Caucasus, diplomats claimed. Foreign Secretary David Miliband tried to calm the crisis by saying no country wants “all-out war” with Russia. But he admitted the invasion of Georgia has brought an end to peace in Europe.
Russia’s Interfax agency said: “The experimental warhead section of the rocket hit its pre-determined target with high accuracy at the firing range.”
The RS-12M Topol, designed to dodge defence systems, has a range of 6,125 miles — enough to reach Britain — with a 550-kiloton warhead capable of devastating a 14-mile wide area. It was launched from the spaceport at Plesetsk to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East.