Ukraine war: US cancels ballistic missile test to avoid misinterpretation by Russia

New Delhi: Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US military on Friday has cancelled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in an attempt to abate nuclear tensions with Russia, reported Reuters adding that the nation only aimed to test the missiles.

The US Air Force`s press desk confirmed the cancellation news to Xinhua.

As per the US Air Force that the delay in the tests came only to avoid any sort of misinterpretation or miscommunication with Russia during Moscow`s military operation in Ukraine.

"The Department of the Air Force recently cancelled the routinely planned test flight of an LGM-30G Minuteman III missile scheduled for March 2022,” announced the US Air Force.

The move comes as the US and Russia relations, which have been rocky since the col war era, have reached an all-time low after the US imposed several trades as well as personal sanctions on Russia and its top officials in retaliation to the war on Ukraine.

The launch had been previously delayed due to an overabundance of caution to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and was cancelled for the same reason," Ann Stefanek, the spokesperson for the Air Force, said in a statement, reported Xinhua.

"Our next planned test flight is later this year. The Department is confident in the readiness of the strategic forces of the United States," Stefanek added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in February ordered his country`s nuclear forces to be put on high alert, prompting Washington to call for de-escalation in what could otherwise be a potential nuclear crisis, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh, during his two-day visit to New Delhi, consulted with Indian counterparts on goals and mechanisms of US sanctions imposed on Russia, the White House said in a statement on Friday.

(With agency inputs)