Russian presenter punched live on air by drunk shouting 'we will seize Ukraine'

A Russian reporter working for a pro-Kremlin news television channel was punched in the face live on air by a man shouting "we'll take Ukraine".

Nikita Razvozzhayev, who works at the NTV channel, was speaking to camera while reporting on the celebrations for the Day of Russia's Airborne Troops, also known as VDV and a national holiday in the country, when a man who seems to have been drinking walks into view.

The man starts shouting at the camera before Razvozzhayev asks him to be quiet before attacker says "Who are you to talk to me in that way" and hits him.

The man can also be heard threatening "If you are going to talk to me like that I will f*****g beat you" as Razvozzhayev staggers and holds his face after being punched.

The camera then cut back to the main presenter in the studio, who is visibly shocked by the incident. She then tells the audience: "Ah, we are having some problems. We will return to our correspondent, Nikita Razvozhaev. We will hope that everything is ok with him."

The attack occurred in Moscow's Gorky park, where the annual celebration of Russia's paratroopers usually takes place. Prior to the attack, the reporter tells the camera "No one celebrates their day like them [Russian paratroopers]".

The suspect was soon detained after attempting to hide from National Guard troops. It was later revealed he has never been a member of the Russian armed forces despite previous reports suggesting he was a former paratrooper.

As reported by the Moscow times, the man in the clip was wearing a shirt featuring the emblem of Oplet, a pro-Russian group involved in the war in Ukraine. The group are said to have evolved into an armed separatist rebel group fighting on the side of the Russians during the Ukraine conflict.