Reuters correspondent killed in Ukraine hotel attack

A security consultant working for Reuters was killed in a rocket attack on a hotel in eastern Ukraine, the global news agency reported on Sunday, as Kiev asserts that Russia is making further inroads in the Kursk region.

• Zelensky condemned the attack, while Ukraine claimed small advances into Russia’s Kursk
• Kyiv accused Belarus of ‘unfriendly’ actions and building up troops on the border

Meanwhile, Ukraine has accused neighboring Moscow-allied Belarus, which has allowed Russia to use its territory as a launch pad for a February 2022 invasion, of “concentrating” troops on its border and warned it to stop its “unfriendly” actions.

Another bloody day in the two-and-a-half-year war, Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 18 civilians, and Russian officials said six civilians were also killed in Ukrainian attacks on Russian border areas.

Reuters reported late Saturday that six crew members covering the war were “devastated” by the loss of their security adviser in the raid at Hotel Sapphire in the city of Kramatorsk, where they were staying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack. “Despite all this, the world should not stop pressuring the terrorist state,” he said, referring to Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the attack hospitalized two Ukrainian journalists, one of whom was seriously injured, while the other three were unharmed.

Ukrainian prosecutors said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile at 10:35 p.m. Saturday, and that the attack also damaged adjacent buildings Reuters.

Kramatorsk is the last major Ukrainian-controlled city in the Donetsk region and is often used as a base for aid workers and foreign journalists.

Reuters said the slain adviser “provided safety for many journalists who were covering events around the world.” He was a dear colleague and friend and we will miss him very much.”

Ukraine claims Kursk advance

Meanwhile, Kiev claimed to have advanced further into Russia’s Kursk region and launched a counteroffensive on August 6.

President Zelensky claimed Ukraine’s surprise advance into Kursk resulted in a small advance of “one to three kilometers” and seized two more Russian settlements for Reuters.

The Kiev advance, which caught Russia unprepared, shocked Moscow and forced the evacuation of more than 130,000 people, but it has not slowed the Russian military advance into eastern Ukraine.

‘Scary to go to bed’

In Kramatorsk, authorities were seen handing out plywood to locals so they could board up their windows, AFP reported.

The city lies about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front line and is a growing concern as Russian forces continue to advance into eastern Ukraine.

Many locals were on their way to bed when the attack occurred.

“I was watching a movie on my phone… I heard a noise and the glass started breaking,” a tearful 66-year-old Natalia told AFP. She said she had already evacuated once after a similar experience but had returned and would now “consider” evacuating again.

“I’m scared to sleep,” she choked up.

Another resident, 84-year-old Vasily, who lives near the hotel, installed plywood on his window frames after glass broke during the strike.

“We are always worried… and now it’s our turn,” he said, adding, “That’s how lucky you are.”

Belarus warned against ‘unfriendly actions’

Late Sunday, Kiev said Ukrainian intelligence had found that Belarus was gathering equipment and troops on the border “under the guise of drills.”

The Foreign Ministry said Ukrainian intelligence had also recorded the presence of fighters from the Wagner mercenary group, some of whom were being received by Belarus after their leaders launched a failed uprising last year.

It warned Minsk to “stop unfriendly actions and withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border.”

In 2022, Minsk allowed Russian troops to be stationed in Belarus for “exercises” before the Russian military launched its invasion in February.

Ukraine also said military exercises in the border area posed a “global security threat” because the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, is located nearby.

On Sunday night, officials said three civilians were killed and six others were wounded in the attack on the Sumy region, where Kiev launched a surprise attack on August 6.

In the south, authorities said a Russian attack on the outskirts of the city of Kherson killed three people and wounded six, including a one-year-old boy who was hit by shrapnel. Authorities said six civilians were killed in an attack across the Russian border in the Belgorod region.

Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said five people were killed and 13 wounded in an attack on the village of Rakitnoye.

Gladkov later said one man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the village of Solovyevka, further south.