Reuters journalist in critical condition after strike on Ukraine’s Kramatorsk By Reuters

(Reuters) – Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey, a Reuters journalist, is in critical condition following a rocket strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday, the news agency said on Monday.

Lyubysh-Kirdey was part of a six-person Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine who were staying at the Sapphire Hotel when it was hit by a missile. Ryan Evans, an agency safety adviser, was killed in the strike.

Another Reuters journalist, Daniel Peleschuk, was injured, while the other three members of the team were located, according to the agency.

“Reuters video journalist Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey remains in critical condition. Our other colleague, Ukrainian correspondent Daniel Peleschuk, has been treated and left hospital,” Reuters said in a statement.

Lyubysh-Kirdey, 40, has worked for Reuters since 2022 and previously worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The father of one is a Ukrainian citizen and was awarded an Order of Merit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in 2022 for services to journalism.

Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the Sapphire Hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile that can strike at distances of up to 500 km (310 miles).

Reuters could not independently verify whether the missile that hit the hotel was fired by Russia or whether the strike on that building was deliberate.

The Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the attack.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not directly address whether Moscow targeted the Sapphire Hotel in a conference call with reporters, but said Moscow had only hit military infrastructure or places “related to military infrastructure in one way or another”.