CNN
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A British security adviser for the Reuters news agency was killed and two journalists were injured when a Russian strike hit a hotel in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday night.
The six-person crew was staying at the Reuters Hotel Sapphire as part of a team covering the war in Ukraine. A spokesman for the news agency identified the slain security adviser as Ryan Evans, a British national assigned to its reporting team in Ukraine.
Reuters added that two journalists were being treated in hospital and one was seriously injured. In a statement Sunday afternoon, they said: “We are urgently seeking more information about the attack, including working with authorities in Kramatorsk, and we are supporting our colleagues and their families. Our deepest condolences and thoughts go out to Ryan’s family and loved ones. Ryan has helped many journalists covering events around the world; we miss him dearly. We’ll miss it.”
Evans, a former British soldier, has been with Reuters since 2022 and has advised its journalists on security around the world, including Ukraine, Israel and the Paris Olympics, the news agency said. He is 38 years old.
Three other colleagues were taken into account and suffered minor injuries, Reuters added.
In his daily address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the presence of British and American citizens at the Kramatorsk hotel, adding: “My condolences to the family and friends. It continues daily Russian terrorism because Russia has the ability to continue.
A spokesman for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are aware of reports of missing British nationals in Ukraine and are seeking further information from local authorities.”
The US State Department confirmed that an American citizen was among the injured, but did not identify the person.
Rescuers found one body under the rubble, Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the Kramatorsk city’s military administration, said in an update Sunday afternoon. He did not provide further details or identify the body.
Vadim Flyashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said the injured journalists included “citizens of Ukraine, the United States, Latvia and Germany.” He confirmed in a telegram on Sunday morning that the deceased was a British citizen.
A Reuters crew was able to record video of the extensive damage to the hotel on Sunday morning, showing emergency services searching through the massive wreckage with torches. Footage shot inside the hotel showed several destroyed hotel rooms.
The video also shows extensive damage to the roof of the hotel.
Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022, Kramatorsk has been the target of frequent Russian shelling. It remains one of the largest cities under Ukrainian control in the besieged east of the country.
In April last year, Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station, which was used to shelter civilians fleeing the fighting.
More than 50 people, including many children, died in that one attack, which Human Rights Watch and SITU Research called a “clear war crime.”
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