Reuters safety adviser killed and two journalists injured after Ukraine strike

Ryan Evans was with the Reuters reporting team at a hotel in Kramatorsk when it was hit in a missile strike, the news agency said.

A tractor clears the rubble after a Russian strike on the Hotel Sapphire in Kramatorsk (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/PA) (AP)

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 was part of the reporting crew staying at the Hotel Sapphire, in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, which was hit by a strike on Saturday.

The former British soldier had been working with Reuters since 2022.

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 President Volodymyr Zelensky said the hotel had been destroyed by a “Russian Iskander missile”.

“All day today, the rubble in Kramatorsk was being cleared after a Russian missile strike,” he said in an address.

“An ordinary city hotel was destroyed.

“My condolences to the family and friends.

“This is the daily Russian terror that continues because Russia still has the means to continue.”