The search was underway Sunday in the remains of the hotel in the eastern Donetsk region to recover the missing person from under the rubble.
Russian troops attacked a hotel in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, wounding two journalists, whilst a third is still missing under the rubble, according to the head of the regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin.
The three are Ukrainian, US, and UK nationals, and rescuers are searching the remains of the destroyed Hotel Sapphire to recover the missing person.
‘We are currently searching for a person who is probably trapped under the rubble,” said Serhiy Kukochka, Head of the Civil Protection Department of Kramatorsk City Council.
“The rubble is still being cleared, and we are currently registering applications from residents of the damaged apartments for assistance in the form of construction materials,” he added.
Reuters news agency on Sunday confirmed that the journalists were with their war coverage team in Ukraine.
“One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to the hospital for treatment,” the Reuters news agency said Sunday. Hotel Sapphire, where a six-person crew was staying, was hit “by an apparent missile strike” on Saturday.
The agency clarified that foreign journalists, aged 38 and 40, were injured in a hotel that was hit by Russian forces. The wounded suffered from mind-blast trauma, concussion, a broken leg, and cut wounds.
A nearby high-rise building was also damaged due to the same strike.
Polish journalist Agnieszka Andruszewska wrote about her injuries resulting from the shelling of Kramatorsk on her Facebook page.
The Russian Federation used an Iskander-M missile to strike Kramatorsk, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office has reported.
“I was sitting there at about 20 minutes past twelve when it hit me. I had the door open and the window open, and the wave came out. And thats it; there was no damage, nothing, thank God,” said Volodymyr, one of the residents of Kramatorsk.
Another resident, Svitlana, said the explosion was indescribable. “You know how many metres it is. We were scared and jumped up in bed and stayed awake all night. We were clearing the debris, and the neighbours’ windows were blown out.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region also came under Russian fire, resulting in multiple civilian injuries, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
In Kharkiv’s Chuhuiv region, five people were reportedly injured, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, after two houses were struck by Russian fire. In Kharkiv city, eight people were reportedly wounded when a two-story house was set on fire by a Russian attack.
In Balakliia, a Russian strike reportedly destroyed six houses and damaged others and injuring a 55-year-old man. And in the Kupiansk area, a house was reportedly set on fire by a Russian strike, wounding four women.
