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US Test Launches Unarmed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

In this image provided by the US Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Marinaccio, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technicians, connect a re-entry system to a spacer on an intercontinental ballistic missile during a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. (US Air Force via AP)
In this image provided by the US Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Marinaccio, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technicians, connect a re-entry system to a spacer on an intercontinental ballistic missile during a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. (US Air Force via AP)
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US Test Launches Unarmed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

In this image provided by the US Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Marinaccio, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technicians, connect a re-entry system to a spacer on an intercontinental ballistic missile during a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. (US Air Force via AP)
In this image provided by the US Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Marinaccio, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technicians, connect a re-entry system to a spacer on an intercontinental ballistic missile during a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. (US Air Force via AP)

An unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched from California to test the defense system, the US Air Force Global Strike Command said.

The Minuteman III missile lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:01 p.m. Thursday and its reentry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, an Air Force statement said.

While the test occurred amid US concerns about North Korea's missile tests and the transit of a Chinese spy balloon across the United States, the Air Force said the launch was routine.

“Such tests have occurred over 300 times before, and this test is not the result of current world events,” the statement said.

The Minuteman III system has been in service for decades. The Air Force plans to replace it with a new missile called the Sentinel.

“Until full capability is achieved in the mid-2030s, the Air Force is committed to ensuring Minuteman III remains a viable deterrent,” the service said.

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Russia Mounts 'Massive' Attack on Ukraine's Energy Infrastructure

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on November 19, 2024, Ukrainian rescuers clean rubble of a destroyed dormitory building following a missile attack in Glukhiv, Sumy region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on November 19, 2024, Ukrainian rescuers clean rubble of a destroyed dormitory building following a missile attack in Glukhiv, Sumy region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
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Russia Mounts 'Massive' Attack on Ukraine's Energy Infrastructure

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on November 19, 2024, Ukrainian rescuers clean rubble of a destroyed dormitory building following a missile attack in Glukhiv, Sumy region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on November 19, 2024, Ukrainian rescuers clean rubble of a destroyed dormitory building following a missile attack in Glukhiv, Sumy region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)

Russia carried out its second big attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this month on Thursday, with national and local officials reporting blasts and emergency power cuts across the country affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
"Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy's massive strike," Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook.
Ukraine's national grid operator Ukrenergo introduced emergency power cuts amid the attack, Galushchenko said.
Ukraine's top private power company DTEK said the power cuts impacted the capital as well as Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
Russia previously staged 10 massive attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, which hobbled the system and spurred fears of long power cuts ahead of the winter months, Reuters said.
During the Thursday missile attack on the western Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers experienced power cuts. He also reported interruptions in water supply without elaborating on damage.
The mayor of the western town of Lutsk reported power cuts after several strikes, adding that the services were working to connect water and heating infrastructure to alternative power sources.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a missile strike on the city damaged a business facility and windows in an apartment building.
The missile attack on the northeastern Sumy region targeted infrastructure, regional authorities said.
Debris in Kyiv fell on the territory of a business and dealt minor damage to several buildings and a truck, the Kyiv city military administration said.