A member of the Reuters news team covering the ongoing war in Ukraine has gone missing, while two of their colleagues have been hospitalized after a Russian missile strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, according to reports on Sunday.
According to AFP, the attack, which occurred late Saturday night, targeted the Hotel Sapphire, where six Reuters journalists were staying as they covered the conflict.
The assault is part of a broader wave of violence that has claimed the lives of 15 civilians across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
Kramatorsk, a strategically significant city in the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, has become a critical base for aid workers and foreign journalists.
Following the missile strike, Ukrainian emergency services launched a search and rescue operation to find survivors amid the wreckage.
Reuters confirmed that while three of their team members are safe, one remains unaccounted for, and two others have been injured and are receiving medical care.
The agency is actively seeking more information and is collaborating with local authorities to support their affected staff and their families.
The head of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, confirmed that the strike occurred “in the middle of the night” and that efforts to clear the rubble and locate the missing individual are ongoing.
Ukrainian prosecutors identified the weapon as a Russian Iskander missile, which struck the hotel at approximately 10:35 PM on Saturday, causing significant damage to nearby buildings as well.
Kramatorsk, situated about 20 kilometers from the frontlines, has seen increased danger as Russian forces press their advance in eastern Ukraine. The attack has left local residents shaken. Natalia, a 66-year-old woman, was watching a movie on her phone when the missile struck.
“There was such a noise and the glass started smashing,” she recounted, tearfully describing how she had previously evacuated due to similar attacks but had returned to the city. Now, she is considering leaving again, admitting, “It’s scary to go to bed.” Vasily, an 84-year-old man living close to the hotel, was busy boarding up his windows with plywood after the blast shattered them. “We worry all the time… and now our turn has come,” he said, reflecting on the constant anxiety faced by residents.
The devastation in Kramatorsk is part of a broader pattern of violence. In the southern region of Kherson, Russian strikes killed three people and injured six others, including a one-year-old boy who sustained shrapnel wounds.
In the Donetsk region, eight civilians were killed in the past 24 hours due to ongoing Russian shelling.
The northeastern Sumy region, from which Ukrainian forces recently launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, also suffered heavily, with four people killed in large-scale attacks.
Ukrainian police reported that Russian forces shelled approximately 50 settlements in the Sumy region, causing widespread destruction.
In response to Ukrainian incursions, Russian officials reported casualties on their side as well.
In the Belgorod region, a strike on the village of Rakitnoye killed five people and injured 13 others, according to the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. Six of the injured remain in serious condition, including a 16-year-old boy in intensive care. Additionally, a separate Ukrainian drone attack in the village of Solovyevka killed one man.
The ongoing conflict has led to significant displacement, with over 130,000 people fleeing the Kursk region as Ukraine continues its push into Russian territory.
