A British safety adviser who was working with Reuters covering the Ukraine war has died after a missile strike on a hotel, the news agency has confirmed.
In a statement, Reuters said it was “devastated” to learn of the death of Ryan Evans, 38, and that two of its journalists were also injured.
Mr Evans, a former British soldier, was part of the reporting crew staying at the Hotel Sapphire, in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, which was hit by a strike on Saturday.
The statement added: “We are urgently seeking more information about the attack, including by working with the authorities in Kramatorsk, and we are supporting our colleagues and their families.
“We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to Ryan’s family and loved ones.
“Ryan has helped so many of our journalists cover events around the world; we will miss him terribly.”
Reuters also said “two of our journalists are in hospital, one is being treated for serious injuries”.
It added that three other colleagues have been accounted for and are safe.
Ukrainian authorities have reported that Russian forces struck a hotel in the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region.
Local officials said the hotel was struck by an Iskander-M Russian ballistic missile, leaving the reporters with blast injuries, concussions and cuts on the body.
Associated Press reporters at the scene described the hotel as "rubble," with excavators being used to clear debris hours after the attack.
Besides the hotel, a nearby multistory building was also destroyed, said Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin.
Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region also came under Russian fire, resulting in multiple civilian injuries, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app Sunday.
In Kharkiv's Chuhuiv region, five people were injured, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, after two houses were hit by a Russian strike.
In Kharkiv city, eight people were wounded when a two-story house was set on fire by a Russian attack.
In Russia, five people died in Ukrainian shelling in of the border region of Belgorod, officials said Sunday.
Twelve other people were wounded in the Russian village of Rakitone, 38 kilometers (23 miles) from the Ukrainian border, including a 16-year-old girl reported to be in critical condition, said regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov on Sunday. Another man also died in a separate drone attack on the border village of Solovevka, he wrote later on social media
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