Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “deeply saddened” by the death in Ukraine of a former British soldier who had been working as a safety adviser for the Reuters news agency.
Ryan Evans, 38, died after a missile strike on a hotel in Ukraine, where he was helping the news organisation cover the war.
Mr Lammy offered his condolences to Mr Evans’s family and condemned the “cowardly” tactics used by Vladimir Putin’s Russia against Ukraine.
Reuters safety adviser Ryan Evans was killed and two Reuters journalists were injured in a strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk https://t.co/n1m3aY3x4d pic.twitter.com/yYEyqhRiZm
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 25, 2024
Mr Evans was part of the reporting crew staying at the Hotel Sapphire, in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, which was hit by a strike on Saturday.
He had been working with Reuters since 2022.
The agency said it was “devastated” by the incident which also injured two of its journalists.
The Reuters statement added: “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.
“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.”
Reuters also said “two of our journalists are in hospital, one is being treated for serious injuries”.
I am also deeply saddened to learn of the death of Reuters’ Ryan Evans following Saturday’s strikes in Kramatorsk by Russian forces. I offer my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 26, 2024
It added that three other colleagues have been accounted for and are safe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the hotel had been destroyed by a Russian Iskander missile.
Mr Lammy said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of Reuters’ Ryan Evans following Saturday’s strike in Kramatorsk by Russian forces”.
“I offer my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones,” he added.
The Foreign Secretary also criticised a wave of Russian strikes on Monday which targeted infrastructure across Ukraine.
“The UK utterly condemns Russia’s cowardly missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine today,” he said.
“These assaults are in flagrant violation of international law and those responsible must be brought to justice.”
