Several pro-Kremlin commentators have suggested that Moscow would not want to make a martyr of Ms Ovsyannikova by throwing her in jail. But she has already become a hero to many in Russia.

Staff at the newsroom of Channel One where she works were both “shocked and full of admiration” for her bravery, which inspired many others to quit in protest against the war, according to an unidentified state TV employee quoted on the Russian media outlet Republic.

The TV producer’s daring stunt drew comparisons to a protest on Moscow’s Red Square in 1968 when Soviet tanks rolled into Prague. The eight Soviet citizens who stood on Red Square for a few minutes, holding banners denouncing the invasion, were sentenced to lengthy terms in labour camps, exile or psychiatric treatment – only to become protest icons years later.

“Five seconds of truth can wash away the filth of the weeks of propaganda,” Lev Shlosberg, the opposition politician, said on Tuesday, referring to the mere seconds that the TV producer’s protest was live on air.

“Marina Ovsyannikova’s five seconds will stay in history and save Russia’s honour before Ukraine.”

Several Russian state TV stars appeared to be following Ms Ovsyannikova’s suit, albeit in a less dramatic manner.