| A Russian soldier stands guard outside the navy headquarters in Simferopol, Ukraine on March 19, 2014. Filippo Monteforte—AFP/Getty Images |
A Russian conscript serving in the far east of the country shot dead eight other soldiers and badly injured two others on Friday after having a nervous breakdown, the defence ministry said, the Interfax news agency reported.
The conscript has been detained, the ministry said, and the two injured troops are being treated in a military hospital. Their lives are not in danger.
The incident occurred at a military facility in the far east of the country in the Zabaikalsk region.
The defence ministry statement reported by Interfax did not say why the conscript had suffered a nervous breakdown, but said the shooting had occurred at a time when the guard was being changed at the base.