MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A Russian strategic nuclear submarine fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Barents Sea on Wednesday, the Northern Fleet's headquarters was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

    The Northern Fleet submarine Yekaterinburg "launched a ballistic missile from a subsurface position in the Barents Sea at the Kura testing ground in Kamchatka," a headquarters official said.

    The missile was launched during the Northern Fleet exercises and monitored by the Space Forces, said the Space Forces' press service.

    The ongoing exercises held under Admiral Mikhail Abramov's command involve surface ships, submarines and naval aviation, as well as the missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, Northern Fleet headquarters sources said.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, aboard the missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, watched the North Fleet's naval exercises in the Barents Sea, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

    The warships are going to fire their guns and missiles at sea, air and land targets, perform torpedo attacks, and rehearse finding and destroying enemy submarines, while air units will hold tactical exercises, the headquarters official said.

    According to Academy representatives, during Northern Fleet exercises in 2004, the nuclear submarine Novomoskovsk failed to fire a Skif (RSM-54) missile after two attempts. Enditem