British man killed in suspected Russian missile attack on journalists’ hotel in Ukraine

Safety adviser Ryan Evans was one of six Reuters employees staying at the Hotel Sapphire

An ex-British soldier has been killed in a suspected Russian missile strike on a hotel in Ukraine.

Ryan Evans, a safety adviser for the Reuters news agency, was in the Hotel Sapphire in the eastern city of Kramatorsk when it was hit on Saturday night.

In a statement, the agency said it was “devastated” to learn of his death and that two of its journalists were also injured, one seriously.

Mr Evans was part of a six-person team staying at the hotel while covering the war in Ukraine.

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

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile in a “deliberate” attack. The Russian Defence Ministry has not responded to a request for comment.

Mr Evans had been working with Reuters since 2022 and advised its journalists on safety around the world including in Ukraine, Israel and at the Paris Olympics.

“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 said in a statement.

Evans had worked for the news agency since 2022 (Reuters)

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr Evans was from the Cheshire area and had previously worked for nine years as an Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office operations manager in Libya.

In his evening address on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said: “A regular city hotel was destroyed by a Russian Iskander missile. Deliberately. Calculated. Seven people were injured, and one person lost their life. My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones.”

The three other members of the Reuters team who were in the hotel at the time of the strike were accounted for and safe, the agency said.

The Donetsk province’s regional prosecutor’s office said in a Telegram post earlier on Sunday that the body of a British citizen had been found in the rubble.

Four foreign journalists – aged 38, 40, 41 and 46 – suffered blast injuries, a brain injury, a broken leg, concussions, cuts and bruises, it added.

The US State Department has confirmed the injured included an American.

Donestsk war crimes prosecutor assesses the damage in Kramatorsk (Telegram/ Kramatorsk City Council)

The Independent has contacted the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Mr Evan’s death. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports of a British national missing in Ukraine and are seeking more information from the local authorities.”

The airstrike on the eastern city was one of several Russian missile and drone strikes on northern, eastern and southern Ukraine that injured at least 37 people on Saturday night, according to the Ukrainian military and local authorities.

They targeted Ukraine‘s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine‘s air force said on Telegram.

In the attack on Kramatorsk, which has become a hub for humanitarian workers and journalists, two women were also injured in their homes, local authorities said.

Emergency services worked into the night at the Hotel Sapphire (Reuters)

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.

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 that at least 13 people were injured in the Russian attacks, including a 4-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 strikes came as Ukraine’s forces advanced a further 3km (1.86 miles) in Russia’s Kursk region, taking control of two more settlements there, Ukrainian Mr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sunday.