Soldier who killed girl is shot dead

A former Russian army colonel who served a jail term for murdering a Chechen girl in 2000 was shot dead in Moscow yesterday.

Yuri Budanov was shot four times in the head in the city centre and died at the scene. He was the most prominent soldier to be prosecuted for crimes against civilians, which human rights activists say were widespread during the Kremlin's two post-Soviet wars against separatist rebels in Chechnya.

Investigators said the killing may have been aimed at provoking nationalist violence.