MOSCOW : Russia announced the successful test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from the northwestern Arkhangelsk region to a target on the other side of the country Thursday, news agencies reported.

The RS-12M Topol missile, which has the NATO codename SS-25 Sickle, was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome and hit its test target in the far eastern region of Kamchatka on Russia's Pacific coast, the Interfax and ITAR-TASS news agencies reported.

"The test warhead of the rocket destroyed the hypothetical target with required accuracy at the firing range on the Kamchatka peninsula," the Strategic Missile Forces press service was quoted as saying.

"Thus, the stability of the main technical flight characteristics of the missile complex were confirmed," it added.

The RS-12M Topol is a three-stage missile fired from a mobile launcher and is similar in size to the US Minuteman ICBM.

The first launch was made in 1981.

The test launch came amid growing East-West tensions and a dispute between Moscow and Washington over US plans to install a limited anti-missile defence shield in central Europe. - AFP/ch