A member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two others were hospitalized after an attack on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
In a statement, the news agency said the Sapphire Hotel, where a six-person Reuters team was staying, was hit by a bomb attack on Saturday.
“One of our colleagues is missing, two others have been taken to hospital for treatment,” the agency said.
“Three more colleagues were reported missing. We are urgently looking for further information, working with the authorities in Kramatorsk and supporting our colleagues and their families. We will provide an update as soon as we have more information,” it said.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, said in a Telegram post on Sunday morning that “the Russians attacked Kramatorsk” and that two journalists were injured while one was missing after an attack on a hotel.
“Authorities, police and rescue services are working on site. The debris removal and rescue operations are underway,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement on Telegram that it had launched a “preliminary investigation” into the attack, which took place at 10.35pm local time (7.35pm Irish time) on Saturday.
“Russian troops attacked the city of Kramatorsk, probably with an Iskander-M missile,” it said.
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Russia fired several missiles and drones at northern and eastern Ukraine overnight, injuring at least 29 people, the Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday.
The attack was directed against the Ukrainian front regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, the Ukrainian Air Force said via the messaging app Telegram.
Russia is bombarding Ukraine’s border regions with attacks, and Kyiv said its surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk region earlier this month was aimed at hampering Moscow’s ability to carry out such attacks.
“Most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” the Air Force said, adding that Russia fired one Iskander-M ballistic missile, one Iskander-K cruise missile and six guided missiles. It did not specify how many missiles were destroyed.
A rocket attack on the northern region of Sumy killed one person and injured at least 16 others, including three children, local authorities said on Telegram.
Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the eastern Kharkiv region, 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, said a gas pipeline was damaged in the city and at least two houses were destroyed and ten damaged.
The Air Force said Russia launched nine attack drones and eight of them were destroyed by Ukrainian air defense systems over the Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia began with a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Elsewhere, five civilians were killed and 12 others injured after Ukraine shelled the town of Rakitnoye in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Three children were among the injured, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, via the messaging app Telegram.
Nine of the injured were hospitalized, six of them are in serious condition, including a 16-year-old girl who is in intensive care.
“We will definitely help everyone who has suffered,” Gladkov said on the messaging app Telegram. “Our task now is to persevere, overcome trials and cope with difficulties.”
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. – Reuters
