Russia says Italian journalist injured in Ukraine

Russia said Thursday that an Italian journalist was injured last month in southern Ukraine and was receiving treatment in a medical facility controlled by Russian forces.

The defence ministry announced that journalist Mattia Sorbi was hurt on August 29 reporting in the southern Kherson region, where Ukrainian forces have launched a counter offensive against Russian forces.

It said that while covering fighting from the Ukrainian side the car he was travelling in hit a mine, seriously injuring the reporter and killing his driver.

Russian soldiers retrieved Sorbi under "heavy fire", removed him from the vehicle and rushed him to hospital, the ministry said.

"Mattia Sorbi was admitted to a resuscitation unit with numerous shrapnel injuries," the ministry said.

"He is receiving the requisite medical care. He is in a stable condition."

The ministry also claimed that Ukrainian forces had knowingly directed the journalist towards the fighting with the intention of blaming Moscow for his death.

The military released images of the bedridden journalist in visible discomfort in a hospital under Moscow's control.

Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, eight journalists have been killed in the line of duty, according to the media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders.