Ryan Evans, a 38-year-old Reuters safety advisor covering the war in Ukraine, was killed and two of the agency’s journalists were injured after a missile struck a hotel where the six-member team was staying in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk, said Reuters in a statement.

The two injured journalists, one with severe wounds, are being treated in hospital. Reuters said that three out of its six staff members staying at Hotel Sapphire are safe.

Evans was a former British soldier and had been working with Reuters since 2022. He advised its journalists on safety, including in Ukraine, Israel, and the Paris Olympics. His body was found in the rubble of the hotel building. The agency said it was “urgently seeking more information about the attack”.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile that can strike at distances up to 500 km, and that the strike was "absolutely purposeful and thought out”. The Russian defence ministry has not commented on the matter.

Meanwhile, Reuters said it was not able to independently verify if the missile that hit the hotel “was fired by Russia or if it was a deliberate strike on that building”.

A Guardian report said that Russia “has been bombing hotels in frontline areas for more than a year”. A missile strike on a hotel in Pokrovsk killed seven people last August, while 11 others were injured in a hotel bombing in Kharkiv in January.

By the way, it will soon be a year since Hamas’ October 7 attack. Contribute to our new NL Sena project to help us bring an exclusive mini-series that examines the multiple dimensions of the Israel-Gaza war from ground zero.

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