Ryan Evans a member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine was killed and two journalists were injured in a strike on a hotel in the Eastern Ukrainian city of katur in a statement Reuters said Evans was killed after a missile struck the hotel Sapphire where he was staying as part of a six-person team on Saturday two Reuters journalists were being treated in hospital one of them was seriously injured the news agency said it was urgently seeking more information about the attack and working with authorities in kramatorsk the three other members of the team who were in the hotel at the time of the strike were accounted for and safe the agency said Evans a former British soldier had been working with Reuters since 2022 and advised its journalists on safety around the world including in Ukraine Israel and at the Paris Olympics he was 38 we send our deepest condolences and thoughts to Ryan's family and loved ones reuter said in the statement Ryan has helped so many of our journalists cover events around the world we will miss him terribly President Vladimir zinski said the hotel was hit by a Russian escaner missile a ballistic missile that can strike at distances up to 310 miles an ordinary City hotel was destroyed by the Russian es scander he said in his evening address on Sunday adding the strike was absolutely purposeful thought out my condolences to family and friends the Russian defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment Reuters was not able to independently verify if the missile that hit the hotel was fired by Russia or if it was a deliberate strike on that building the Donk provinces Regional prosecutor's office said in a telegram post that the body of a British citizen had been found in the rebel of a hotel building in kramatorsk the hotel was destroyed at 10:35 p.m. local time on Saturday probably with an es scander and missile it said the prosecutor's office said it has opened a pre-trial investigation into the strike