Moment team of Putin propagandists are sent flying while filming after being hit by motion-detecting mine dropped by Ukrainian drone in Russian border town

This is the moment a crew of Vladimir Putin's state media propagandists was hit by a motion-activated mine in the Russian border region of Belgorod, video shows.

An explosion was caught on camera as the pro-war channel Rossiya-24's crew were filming in Shebekino dressed in military fatigues.

The blast seriously wounded cameraman Yaroslav Borisov, who was rushed to hospital in grave condition with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen, neck, shoulder, legs, and arms.

Four others were wounded in the blast.

Borisov had spotted the anti-personnel mine several feet away and said 'Here's another one' immediately before it exploded.

Footage showed Borisov writhing in pain on the ground with blood spilling from visible shrapnel wounds as he received first aid.

Russian sources allege such mines have been dropped by drones in the border region which has increasingly been drawn into the war, which started when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Armed groups from Ukraine made incursions into the region in 2023, bringing the war - that had until then been contained within in Ukraine - to the doorstep of Russia.

Governor of Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed that five people were injured in the Shebekino mine detonation.

'The Rossiya-24 cameraman, who had shrapnel injuries to his abdomen and left shoulder, was transported in critical condition to Shebekino Central Regional Hospital.' He was later reported as 'stable' after surgery.

Rossiya-24 is owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), a state-owned media company in Russia seen as a major Putin propaganda tool.

The channel was banned in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Ukraine, and Moldova following Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

It has regularly pushed Russian propaganda, including the lie that the Bucha massacre was staged by Ukraine.

This is despite photographic, video and witness evidence demonstrating how Russian soldiers carried out the mass-murder of Ukrainian citizens while the town was under Russian occupation in the first month of the war.

According to local authorities, 458 bodies have been recovered from the town, including children under the age of 18. Many were found in mass graves.

Several victims were found with their hands tied behind their back, suggesting they were summarily executed by the Russians. Others had signs of torture and rape.

Rossiya-24 suggested that scenes from the town were staged, and said unrelated footage of actors placing mannequins on a film set in St Petersburg were Ukrainian soldiers using the models to 'pass it off as a corpse'.

These claims have been debunked by several rights groups and media organisations.