Reuters journalist in critical condition after strike on Ukraine’s Kramatorsk
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Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of a rocket strike in Kramatorsk, on Aug 25.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KRAMATORSK – Mr Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey, a journalist for Reuters, is in critical condition following a missile strike on Aug 24 on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the news agency said on Aug 26.
Mr Lyubysh-Kirdey was part of a team of six people from Reuters covering the war in Ukraine who were staying at the Hotel Sapphire when it was hit by a missile. Mr Ryan Evans, a safety adviser for the agency, was killed in the strike
One other Reuters journalist, Mr Daniel Peleschuk, was injured while the other three team members have been accounted for, according to the agency.
“Reuters video journalist Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey remains in critical condition. Our other colleague, Ukraine correspondent Daniel Peleschuk, was treated and has left the hospital,” it said in a statement.
Mr 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 national and was awarded an order of merit by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022 for his services to journalism.
Mr Zelensky said on Aug 25 that the Hotel Sapphire was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile that can strike at distances of up to 500km.
Reuters was not able to independently verify if the missile that hit the hotel was fired by Russia, or whether the strike on that building was deliberate.
Russia's Defence Ministry has not commented on the strike.
In a conference call with reporters on Aug 26, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not directly address whether Moscow had targeted the Hotel Sapphire, but said Moscow struck only military infrastructure or places “related to military infrastructure in one way or another”. REUTERS
