Russian soldier hurt at US embassy

Moscow - A US Marine shot and wounded a Russian soldier yesterday while foiling an attempted break-in at the US embassy compound…

Moscow - A US Marine shot and wounded a Russian soldier yesterday while foiling an attempted break-in at the US embassy compound in Moscow, Russian police said. The US State Department spokesman, Mr James Rubin, said only that an intruder had been "subdued by force".

A 23-year-old Interior Ministry trooper was shot by the US guard during the break-in, Interfax news agency quoted police as saying. The soldier, named as Mr Yevgeny Tainakov, was undergoing treatment of wounds in a city hospital, the report said.

A second soldier believed to have taken part in the break-in fled and was being hunted, police said. Echo Moscow radio said both men had been drunk. The embassy said the man had ignored orders to stop his attempt to start an embassy vehicle.