Back outside the Committee for Soldiers' Mothers, soldier Sergei is helped into an ambulance - he is off to hospital now to recover from his ordeal.

BBC: Brutality sparks flood of Russian desertions

The all-party defence committee said the soldiers needed more helicopters and better-protected patrol vehicles to shield them from roadside bombs.

BBC: Soldiers now face a higher threat in southern Iraq, MPs say

The committee lists 264 Soviet soldiers as still missing in Afghanistan, half of them Russians.

BBC: Soviet war veteran found in Afghanistan after 33 years

Herbert Welsh had learned of Riley, and enlisted him, among other soldiers, to testify before the committee.

NEWYORKER: The Water Cure

In the first decade after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 the committee found 29 missing soldiers - and 22 of them decided to return home, while seven opted to stay in Afghanistan, RIA reports.

BBC: Soviet war veteran found in Afghanistan after 33 years

The Cabinet's civil contingency committee decided not to use soldiers to control the situation, but the option remains open.

BBC: Petrol pumps out of use in England

And former Army officer, Andrew Robathan, now minister for defence personnel, welfare and veterans, will be quizzed by the Defence Committee (at 2.30pm) on soldiers' accommodation.

BBC: Week ahead in Parliament

Relatives of missing soldiers, and veterans and widows who cannot get their benefits, invariably turn to their local committee.

ECONOMIST: Who needs democracy?

The organizing committee said Sunday it was addressing the issue partly by offering empty seats in accredited areas to soldiers who had finished their security shifts, but remained on the grounds.

CNN: SHARE THIS