A Reuters news agency team member was killed and two others were wounded in an attack on a hotel in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. Reuters said Ryan Evans was killed when a missile hit the hotel where he was staying while working as a security adviser.
Three of the six-member Reuters team were reported safe and accounted for, the news agency said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Ryan's family and loved ones. Ryan helped so many of our journalists cover events around the world; we will miss him greatly,” Reuters said in a statement.
“We urge more information about the attack, including through cooperation with authorities in Kramatorsk, and we support our colleagues and their families,” the news agency said.
Evans, 38, is a former British soldier who has worked for Reuters as a security adviser since 2022.
Ukrainian authorities said Evans' body was found amid the rubble of the hotel at about 6:35 p.m. after a nearly 20-hour search.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to Evans' family and friends.
Zelenskyy added that Russia had used more than 100 missiles and drones on Saturday to target “critical civilian infrastructure.”
Regional officials said four other journalists, German, Latvian, Ukrainian and American nationals, were wounded in the attack on the hotel.
The attack hit the Sapphire Hotel at around 10.35pm on Saturday. The hotel is often used by aid workers and media crews as a base when they cover the area.
Ukraine says Russian strikes killed 15 civilians in the past day.
Reuters said it had not independently verified whether the missile was Russian or whether the attack was deliberate.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said on social media Telegram Sunday that authorities and rescue workers were at the scene of the attack.
“Debris clearance and rescue operations are underway,” he said, adding, “Seventeen private homes, six high-rise buildings, three companies, a government building and a coffee shop were damaged.”
Reuters said the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Footage shared on X by VOA sister network Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty showed rescue workers pulling at least one body from the rubble. The footage also showed damage to the hotel and nearby buildings.
At least 15 journalists have been killed while covering the war in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Six of them are foreign correspondents, including Fox News video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski and American filmmaker Brent Renaud. (uh/ab)
