RUSSIA has just completed a major nuclear exercise, testing its land, sea and air weapons from all four corners of the continent-spanning nation.

But one test stood out.

The missile rocketed out from Russia’s Plestek Cosmodrome, passing above the atmosphere before plummeting back to earth some 5800km away — striking targets in the Kura test range.

It was reportedly a Topol SS-25 ICBM (code named Sickle). The 1980s vintage weapon is capable of carrying a single 550 kiloton warhead.

Rumours that it was Russia’s next-generation Satan II missile, believed capable of carrying a dozen warheads, have been debunked.

But it was just one shot among many.

According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, three nuclear capable missiles were also test-fired from Russian submarines. One was lurking in the Okhotsk Sea, north of Japan, while the other was in the Arctic Ocean’s Barents Sea.

Long-range bombers, including Tu-160 Blackjacks, Tu95 Bears and Tu-22 Backfires took to the air and reportedly unleashed a volley of cruise missiles.

All fell on Russian weapons testing grounds in Kamchatka and the Komi Republic, as well as near Kazakhstan.

#ПроверкаСЯС Сегодня в соответствии с Планом подготовки ВС #РФ проведена тренировка по управлению СЯС России https://t.co/v8FajyvxX2 pic.twitter.com/m6aX8m4SdF — Минобороны России (@mod_russia) October 26, 2017

The Ministry of Defence said it had “carried out an exercise to manage its strategic forces ...

All objectives of the training have been successfully completed.”

“A squad of the Strategic Missile Force fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk towards the Kura test range in Kamchatka,” the Russian Defense Ministry is quoted in the state-owned TASS News Agency.

The statement also said Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved in the multifaceted exercise, and personally controlled the launch of all four of the missiles.

“The exercise focused on practising the co-ordination between Russian Strategic Missile Troops, nuclear submarines of the Northern and Pacific fleets, and strategic aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces,” a Kremlin press statement reads.

The nuclear weapons drill, while large, is an annual event.