Russia launches Soyuz rocket with spacecraft for defence purposes

Russian Aerospace Forces, part of the country's armed forces, launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a spacecraft for defence purposes, the state RIA news agency reported early on Monday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Soyuz-2.1b launch lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region in Russia's north, RIA said, without elaborating.

"The Aerospace Forces successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Defence Ministry," RIA cited the ministry as saying.

The Russian Soyuz rocket is launched as needed for space missions, including carrying equipment and astronauts to the International Space Station. According to the European Space Agency, the Soyuz vehicles have had nearly 1,700 launches so far.

The Soyuz launches for scientific and exploratory purposes are usually announced by Russia's Roscosmos space agency.

The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is used for launching vehicles with military satellites. In October, the cosmodrome was used for test-firing the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile.