A Ukrainian journalist and Reuters cameraman, Ivan Liubysh-Kirdei, is fighting for his life after a Russian missile attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, according to the Institute of Mass Information.
A Russian missile strike occurred on 24 August at 10:35 PM and targeted the Sapphire hotel where journalists often stay while covering the war. The attack also claimed the life of Ryan Evans, a security advisor for Reuters and injured four other people.
Liubysh-Kirdei is currently in a hospital in Dnipro, where he remains on artificial ventilation following surgery, according to the Institute of Mass Information.
“He is now unconscious. The best doctors take care of him, they do everything possible and impossible. I am also with him,” wrote his wife Mariia Semenchenko on Facebook
She also stated that Reuters news agency is fully covering their needs and she maintains constant communication with Ivan’s colleagues and management.
The strike targeted a residential area, injuring six people, including four Reuters journalists from Ukraine, the United States, Latvia, and Germany. The journalists, ranging in age from 38 to 46, suffered various injuries including brain contusions, fractures, and blast-related trauma.
The National Police of Ukraine stated that the hotel was targeted by an Iskander-M tactical missile system, a detail that emphasizes the precision and deliberate nature of the attack.
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