British man killed in missile strike in Ukraine

Reuters safety advisor Ryan Evans in an undated photo taken in Ukraine

A British national who was working in eastern Ukraine as part of a Reuters news team was killed in a missile strike on a hotel on Saturday, the agency has confirmed.

Safety advisor Ryan Evans was one of six Reuters employees staying at the Hotel Sapphire in the city of Kramatorsk - which is under Ukrainian control but near the front line - when it was hit.

Ukrainian authorities said the hotel was struck by a Russian missile. Russia has not commented.

In a statement, a Reuters spokesperson said the agency had been "devastated" to learn of Mr Evans's death.

"We are urgently seeking more information about the attack, including by working with the authorities in Kramatorsk, and we are supporting our colleagues and their families," it said.

"We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to Ryan’s family and loved ones. Ryan has helped so many of our journalists cover events around the world; we will miss him terribly."

It added that two other members of the team had been hospitalised by the strike and that one of them was being treated for serious injuries.

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The National Police of Ukraine said earlier that the body of a 40-year-old British man was recovered from the rubble of a hotel at 18:35 local time (16:35 BST) on Sunday after a 19-hour search.

Writing on Telegram, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky sent his “condolences to [the] family and friends” of the man killed.

“This is the daily Russian terror that continues,” he said.

Earlier, Reuters released footage showing parts of the hotel completely destroyed by the strike, with firefighters attempting to pick through the rubble.

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office wrote in a statement that the hotel had likely been hit with a short-range Iskander-M missile.

Kramatorsk is only about 20km (12 miles) from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, and has come under regular attacks, with civilians killed, including celebrated Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina.

The Russian military has been making slow but steady advances in the east in recent months, with Ukraine's recent offensive into Russia seen as an attempt to draw troops away from the eastern front line.

Additional reporting by Aleks Phillips