Russia successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the navy press service said in a statement on November 17.

The missiles were launched from a Russian Arctic Fleet nuclear cruiser submarine of the Typhoon class from the Barents Sea with an interval of two hours and hit the planned targets in a testing ground on Russia's easternmost peninsula of Kamchatka.

The statement was issued as President Boris Yeltsin was heading for Istanbul to attend the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia is expected to face pressure from the West to ease its military campaign against rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

"The successful test of the two missiles from the nuclear submarine showed the high level of preparedness of the combat command system and personnel training," the statement said.