A pregnant journalist was recovering in hospital last night after a pro-Kremlin political leader in Russia told two male aides to 'violently rape' her.

Nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky launched his extraordinary tirade after reporter Stella Dubovitskaya asked him an innocuous question about sanctions against Ukraine.

Zhironovsky was caught on camera pushing the aides towards reporter Stella Dubovitskaya and shouting: "When I say, you run to her and violently rape her."

During his vicious tirade, Zhirinovsky compared the reporter to Irina Faraon - a Ukrainian philologist and nationalist politician and a strong supporter of her country's language and culture.

The question infuriated the founder of the far right Liberal Democratic Party, who told his young aides to: "Go and kiss her. Grab her."

Dubovitskaya is now being treated in hospital for shock and her employer, Russia Today, are considering legal action.