One of Vladimir Putin’s most senior propagandists has hailed Alex Salmond as an “infinitely brave, almost Russian-like fighter”.

Margarita Simonyan, the head of the major Kremlin media group RT, wrote a tribute to Mr Salmond shortly after Scotland’s former first minister died of a heart attack at the age of 69 in North Macedonia on Saturday.

“Eternal memory to the infinitely brave, almost Russian-like soulful, tireless fighter for the independence of his native Scotland, the former first minister of this country and, finally, RT host Alex Salmond,” she said on her Telegram account.

RT, previously called Russia Today, is one of the Kremlin’s largest English-language channels. It was banned in Britain after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine for spreading “Kremlin disinformation”.

Mr Salmond had a show on the channel for more than four years from 2017.

The British government has sanctioned Ms Simonyan for actions “which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. She is one of the most recognisable faces on Russian TV, regularly appearing on prime-time chat shows to defend the Kremlin’s invasion.