The Russian Navy has successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile, according to reports.

The Bulava missile was launched from a Russian nuclear submarine, the Defence Ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news wires.

The statement said the missile was test-fired from the submerged Dmitry Donskoy submarine, and that its warheads hit a designated target at a military range on the far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, the news agencies reported.

The news came as US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russia was becoming increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad. Ms Rice said Moscow was on a "one-way path to isolation and irrelevance".

Relations between the two states have been severely strained since the recent conflict in Georgia.

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