MOSCOW – Russia’s military conducted a successful ballistic missile test Saturday from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, hitting a target on the eastern peninsula of Kamchatka, officials said.

The two-stage Volna missile was launched from submarine Borisoglebsk around 5:30 p.m. EDT and it hit the Kura training area on Kamchatka an undetermined time later, Defense Ministry spokesman Capt. Ivan Dyagalo said.

The launch was at least the fifth test of a missile from a sea-based vessel this year. Russian forces have conducted regular test launches of Soviet-built ballistic missiles to check their readiness.

The Barents Sea is a section of the Arctic Ocean northwest of Russia and north of Norway.