Evans, who served as a security adviser to the agency, was killed on Saturday when a missile struck the Hotel Sapphire where he was staying as part of a six-man team, Reuters said in a statement.
Two of the agency’s reporters were hospitalized; One of them was seriously injured, he said.
“We are urgently seeking more information about the attack, including working with authorities in Kramatorsk, and we are supporting our colleagues and their families,” Reuters reported.
Evans, a former British soldier, has been with Reuters since 2022 and has advised its journalists on security around the world, including in Ukraine, Israel and the Paris Olympics. He is 38 years old.
“Our deepest condolences and thoughts go out to Ryan’s family and loved ones. Ryan helped many of our journalists cover events around the world; he will be greatly missed,” Reuters said.
Three other members of the Reuters team who were at the hotel during the strike have been accounted for and are safe, the agency said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the hotel was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile with a range of 500 km (310 miles).
“An ordinary city hotel was destroyed by the Russian Iskander,” he said in his evening speech on Sunday, adding that the strike was “absolutely intended, thought out … My condolences to the family and friends”.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Reuters could not independently verify whether the missile that hit the hotel was fired by Russia or was a deliberate strike on the building.
Donetsk Oblast’s regional prosecutor’s office earlier said in a Telegram post that the body of a British citizen had been found in the rubble of a hotel building in Kramatorsk.
It said the hotel was “probably destroyed by an Iskander-M missile” at 10:35 pm local time (1935 GMT) on Saturday. It said the prosecutor’s office had opened a pre-trial investigation into the strike.
Sign up Here.
Reporting by Rachel Armstrong and Tom Balmforth Editing by Frances Kerry
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
