kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Five people died in Ukrainian shelling in the Russian border region of Belgorod, authorities said Sunday, while Russian forces struck a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving a journalist missing and two others wounded.
Twelve more people were injured in the Russian village of Rakitone, 38 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, including a 16-year-old girl who is said to be in critical condition, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Another man also died in a separate drone attack on the border village of Solovevka, he later wrote on social media.
Russian forces attacked a hotel in the eastern Donetsk region town of Kramatorsk on Saturday night, injuring two people and leaving another trapped under the rubble, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. The victims are believed to be Ukrainian, American and British journalists.
Reuters news agency reported on Sunday that its reporter covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two other members of his team were hospitalized after the Sapphire Hotel, where a six-person crew was staying, was hit by “an apparent missile strike” on Saturday. “One of our colleagues is missing, while two others have been taken to hospital for treatment,” the agency said.
The rest of the team has been found, the news agency said.
Local officials said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile, leaving the journalists with blast injuries, concussions and cuts to their bodies.
Associated Press reporters at the scene described the former hotel as “in ruins,” with excavators still being used to clear debris hours after the attack.
In addition to the hotel, a nearby multi-story building was also destroyed, Filashkin said, and rescuers were busy cleaning up debris at the site.
Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region has also come under Russian fire, injuring many civilians, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
In the Chuhuiv region of Kharkiv, five people were injured, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, after two houses were hit by Russian fire. In the city of Kharkiv, eight people were injured when a two-story house was set on fire by a Russian attack.
In Balaklia, a Russian strike destroyed six houses and damaged others. A 55-year-old man was injured. In the Kupiansk region, a house was set on fire by a Russian attack, injuring four women.
