Ukraine :Reuters Safety Adviser Killed, 2 Journalists Injured

The strike hit the Hotel Sapphire in the city of Kramatorsk on Saturday where a six-person Reuters team had been lodging, a Reuters statement said.

A safety adviser working with a team of journalists for the Reuters news agency was killed on Sunday and two journalists were wounded after a missile hit the hotel in which they were staying in eastern Ukraine, Reuters said in a statement.

“Two of our journalists are in hospital; one is being treated for serious injuries. Three other colleagues have been accounted for and are safe,” said the statement, identifying the security adviser who was killed as Ryan Evans. It did not provide more information. A Reuters article said Mr. Evans, 38, was a former British soldier who had been working with the news agency since 2022.

“We are urgently seeking more information about the attack, including by working with the authorities in Kramatorsk,” the statement added.

It was not immediately clear whether the hotel had been deliberately targeted, but President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine blamed Moscow for the attack and said Russian forces had used an Iskander missile, a type of ballistic missile frequently used in Ukraine.

The strike was part of the “daily Russian terror which continues because Russia still has the means to do so,” Mr. Zelensky said in a speech posted online.

Russian forces have launched thousands of missiles at Ukraine since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, as well as conducted a daily barrage of drone and artillery attacks. But it was not possible to determine responsibility for the attack on the hotel and there was no immediate comment from the Russian authorities.

Thousands of Ukrainian and international journalists have reported on the war, and Reporters Without Borders said in February that more than 100 journalists had been “victims of violence” in the conflict. Large news organizations often deploy safety advisers, many of whom have military backgrounds, in an effort to ensure security for their staff members working in major conflict zones.