KYIV (AFP) — A nighttime Russian strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk wounded two journalists, while a third was missing in the rubble, authorities said Sunday.
Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional government, said the journalists were British, American and Ukrainian nationals and that a search operation was underway for the missing journalist.
Filashkin said in a Telegram post that the attack happened “in the middle of the night.”
“A hotel was targeted in the city — two people are currently known to be wounded, and one person is under the rubble,” the official said of the incident.
In addition to the hotel, a nearby high-rise building was also damaged.
“Authorities, police and rescuers are working at the scene. The rubble is being cleared and rescue operations are underway,” Filashkin added.
Kramatorsk is the last major city in the Donbas region still under Ukrainian control. It is about 20 kilometers from the war’s front line.
The city had about 150,000 people before Russia’s February 2022 invasion, but it has been the target of repeated attacks since.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed more “retribution” against Russia on Saturday as he celebrated Independence Day near where his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory two weeks ago.
Zelensky also signed a law banning the Russia-linked branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, calling the legislation a “liberation from Moscow’s devils,” drawing a sharp response from Russia’s Orthodox leader.
Kyiv marked its independence from the Soviet Union at a tense moment in the long war as it mounts a push into Russia and Moscow eyes more east Ukrainian towns.
Zelensky published a video of him standing in a hilly, forested area said to be near where Ukraine launched its shock incursion from on 6 August.
“What the enemy brought to our land has now returned to its home,” he said, adding that Russia will “know what retribution is.”