Reuters journalist missing and two others injured after strike on hotel in Ukraine

A member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two others were hospitalised after a strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
In a statement, the news agency said that the Hotel Sapphire, where a six-person Reuters crew was staying, was hit by a strike on Saturday.
“One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to hospital for treatment,” the agency said.
“Three other colleagues have been accounted for. We are urgently seeking more information, working with the authorities in Kramatorsk, and supporting our colleagues and their families. We will give an update when we have more information,” it added.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, said in a post on Telegram on Sunday morning that “the Russians hit Kramatorsk”, and that two journalists were injured, while one was missing after a strike on a hotel.
“Authorities, police and rescuers are working on the spot. Debris clearance and rescue operations are ongoing,” he said.
The Russian ministry for defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Telegram that it had opened a “pretrial investigation” into the strike, which it said happened at 10.35pm local time (7.35pm Irish time) on Saturday.
“Russian troops struck the city of Kramatorsk, probably with an Iskander-M missile,” it said.
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Russia launched several missiles and drones overnight targeting northern and eastern Ukraine, injuring at least 29 people, Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday.
The attack targeted Ukraine’s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia has been pummelling Ukrainian border regions with strikes, and Kyiv said its surprise incursion earlier this month into Russia’s Kursk region aimed to hinder Moscow’s ability to stage such attacks.
“Most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” the air force said, adding that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an Iskander-K cruise missile and six guided air missiles. It did not specify how many missiles were destroyed.
A missile attack on the northern region of Sumy killed one person, injuring at least 16 more, including three children, local authorities said on Telegram.
Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in the east, posted on Telegram that at least 13 people were injured in the Russian attacks, including a four-year-old child.
Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv city, said a gas pipeline was damaged in the city and at least two houses were destroyed and 10 damaged.
The air force said Russia launched nine attack drones, with Ukraine’s air defence systems destroying eight of them over Ukraine’s’s Mykolaiv region.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Elsewhere, five civilians died and 12 others were injured after Ukraine shelled the town of Rakitnoye in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Among the injured were three children, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Nine of the injured were hospitalised, with six of them listed in a serious condition, including a 16-year-old girl who is in intensive care
“We will definitely help everyone who suffered,” Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. “Our task now is to endure, to overcome trials, to cope with trouble.”
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. – Reuters