Russia loads new intercontinental ballistic missile into silo south of Moscow

Reuters
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Victory Day Parade in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian rocket forces have loaded a new Yars intercontinental ballistic missile into a silo at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the defence ministry said.

The 23-metre long RS-24 (Yars) missile is designed to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), which allow the missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads at different targets.

"In the Kozelsky compound, Strategic Missile Forces loaded a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile into a silo launcher," the defence ministry said.

The defence ministry released a clip of the giant missile being transported to a silo and loaded into a shaft. It accompanied the video with pounding rock music.

Russia has the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, closely followed by the United States. Together, Russia and the United States control more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons.

Russia has about 5,889 nuclear warheads while the United States has about 5,244, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Of those, Russia and the United States each have about 1,670 strategic nuclear warheads deployed.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alex Richardson)