A Russian war reporter filmed himself being hunted down by a Ukrainian drone inside the ruins of a factory.

The menacing hum of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be heard getting louder as it hones in on the building in the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east.

As the drone comes into view, the terrified reporter says in Russian: “It’s in the factory!” A man on a radio shouts back “Topol, Topol” – a common Russian surname.

The drone then loudly explodes less than a metre from the man, shaking the camera but appearing to leave him unharmed. “Phew,” he exclaims.

First-person view drones laden with explosives have become ubiquitous on the battlefield in Ukraine, with both sides coming to rely on the cheap, readily available weapons.

A soldier can crash the drone into a target from a safe position, controlling the device from as far as six miles away.