A short-range antimissile system was successfully tested early Tuesday at a Central Asian testing range, the country’s Defense Ministry said.

Russian Vice Commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Gumenny, who arrived at the testing ground in Kazakhstan for the launch, was quoted as saying that the missile had "successfully fulfilled its task by engaging the test target at the scheduled time."

"At 7:00 a.m. [4:00GMT] Tuesday, June 21, anti-missile and anti-aircraft forces of the Aerospace Forces together with industry representatives successfully test-fired a short-range antimissile system of the Russian missile shield at the Sary-Shagan testing ground," the press release read.