Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, the commander of Russia's strategic missile forces, at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, 12 Oct 2008

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has watched his military test new long-range missiles and says the country's missile defense system is strong.

Russia fired two missiles Sunday from submarines in the Pacific Ocean and the Barents Sea, and one from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.  

Mr. Medvedev watched the launch in Plesetsk, and said Russia will continue to develop new types of weapons.  But he praised the existing system's effectiveness, saying Russia's missile shield is "fine."

Moscow has objected to U.S. plans to install a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.  

U.S. officials say the missile shield is designed to protect against what they call threats from rogue countries, such as Iran.  But Russia says deployment of the system in Europe will undermine its own missile capability and threatens its security.

The U.S. plan provides for deploying 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.