Reuters journalist injured in Kramatorsk hotel strike in serious condition

Reuters camera operator Ivan Lubysh-Kirdey is unconscious after sustaining serious injuries from Russia's Aug. 24 strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, his wife, Mariia Semenchenko, said on Aug. 26.

The strike on the Safir (Sapphire) Hotel in Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast killed British national Ryan Evans, a security adviser for Reuters, and injured six others, including two local female residents.

As well as Lubysh-Kirdey, one other journalist for Reuters was among the injured. In a statement, Reuters said a six-person team had been staying at the hotel when it was hit.

The city of Kramatorsk is currently located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the front line. The hotel was hit at around 10:35 p.m. on Aug. 24.

Lubysh-Kirdey "was not far from the epicenter of the explosion, so he has numerous injuries" and is now unconscious, Semenchenko said in a Facebook post, adding that he is being treated in Dnipro.

"The best doctors take care of him, they do everything possible and impossible."

Semenchenko said she is "very grateful to everyone" who has provided support, including Reuters. "I believe that Ivan also feels this support," she said.

"I was afraid of such news since 2014, when Ivan started traveling and filming on the front line," Semenchenko said.

Lubysh-Kirdey is an experienced camera operator who covered the EuroMaidan Revolution as well as the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014, when Ukrainian soldiers who had been promised safe passage by Russian-backed proxies through a pre-agreed corridor came under attack.

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Kyiv Independent reporters heard explosions in the city shortly before 8:30 a.m, with several more a few minutes later.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York