Russia fires nuclear-capable missile from North Pole

[jpak]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2019/08/25/russia-fires-nuclear-capable-missile-from-north-pole/#3acc7aff15a9

Early on Saturday morning the peace and tranquility of the Arctic, hundreds of miles from the nearest signs of human activity, was shattered. A Russian submarine punched through the ice near the North Pole and fired a Sineva type intercontinental ballistic missile. Meanwhile, around 1,000 miles further south, yet still within the Arctic Circle, another Russian submarine launched a Bulava type intercontinental ballistic missile from beneath the surface of the Barents Sea. The timing and location of these tests may be intended to send messages both internally and to the rest of the world.

Russia announced the two launches on August 24. The near-simultaneous launches were conducted by two submarines; a Delta-IV class boat named Tula firing from the North Pole and the newer Borei-I class boat Yuri Dolgoruky firing the frigid waters of the Barents Sea. One of the missiles flew a couple of thousand miles to impact in a remote corner of Russia’s Pacific Coast, and the other landed in the Chizh range on the Kanin Peninsula in the Arctic north.

The missile tests come less than three weeks after an accident at the Nyonoksa naval test range left five dead and several injured. That incident, reportedly resulting from an explosion of a liquid-fueled engine, raised radiation levels in the area. Also, recently Russia has suffered a massive ammunition depot explosion in Siberia and a serious accident aboard the nuclear-powered submarine Losharik which left 14 elite hydronauts dead. The new tests may be intended to place a positive bookend to this tragic series of events.

More significantly, conducting missile tests from the North Pole underscores Russia’s attitude to the Arctic. They can be contextualized with Russia's territorial claims, economic interests and ongoing moves to militarize the region. In 2007 Russia used a deep-diving minisub to place a Russian flag on the seabed beneath the geographical North Pole. Back then, ironically, they needed a Finnish built submersible to plant the flag. Today, the submarines breaking the icy tranquility are truly Russian.

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[Firestorm49]

1. The other one "landed"?

I know, I know. It could be just the term for hit, exploded, detonated, whatever, but in an age where diplomatic words have sublime meaning, this is curious. After all, the article specifically named the subs, so I guess I can assume that this is an official account of the events, in which case, the wording is significant. Ah, but for what purpose? Oh Firestorm, you old fool, you’re reading more into it than what it is. Landed? Really?

There is a lot of meat in this article.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. No, I don't think the wording is significant

This is an article in English, and the announcement would probably have been in Russian. Writers often like to avoid using the same verb twice in a sentence. For comparison, a Russian English language website reported it with 'hit' both times: https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2019/08/russia-double-ballistic-missiles-test-barents-sea

'Exploded' or 'detonated' would have implied a lot more - a significant explosion (you might assume they were carrying an explosive charge if that were the case), and there's no sign that was involved. You wouldn't expect them to put an explosive charge on a ballistic missile, since they don't normally carry one. It wouldn't be testing anything, just making extra mess (though I expect remnants of rocket fuel may do a bit, but it's unimportant compared to the point of did it hit its target, or would MIRVs have hit theirs).

[calimary]

2. Isn't it interesting how TWO opponents are now "flexing their missiles"

Since trump started cozying up to them...

Yeah, you sure have them eating out of your hand, dontcha, donald.

[Newest Reality]

3. Yes, it is.

The term "enabler" really applies here.

[Faux pas]

4. Yes, for sure,

he's the king of nothing.

[Amishman]

6. In Russia's case, showy antagonistic actions has propaganda use

Their economy is hurting, and Us vs Them jingoism is an old standby for bad governments to distract from internal tension.

GDP growth has been 2% or less for several years, paired with inflation of 5%+. They aren't growing much and the people are getting poorer as prices rise