British journalist team member dies after Russian missile strikes Ukraine hotel

A safety adviser working with a team of Reuters journalists was killed on Sunday, while two journalists were injured when a missile struck their hotel in eastern Ukraine.

The missile hit the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk on Saturday, where the six-member Reuters team was staying, according to a statement from the news agency.

“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.

The adviser, Evans, a former British soldier, had been with Reuters since 2022, providing safety guidance to its journalists globally, including in Ukraine, Israel, and at the Paris Olympics, Reuters reported.

Local officials said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile, causing the journalists to suffer blast injuries, concussions, and cuts.

In addition to the hotel, a nearby multistory building was also destroyed, according to Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged in his daily address on Sunday that British and American citizens were in the Kramatorsk hotel, saying, “My condolences go out to the family and friends. This is a daily Russian terror that continues, because Russia has the ability to continue.”

Kramatorsk has frequently been targeted by Russian shelling since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It remains one of the largest cities under Ukrainian control in the country’s embattled east.