Reuters Camera Operator Seriously Injured After Russian Strike
A Reuters camera operator in Ukraine has been seriously injured after a Russian strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk.
Ivan Lubysh-Kirdey is unconscious after the missile struck the Sapphire Hotel in the Donetsk Oblast region. The attack killed Ryan Evans, a British national and security adviser for Reuters. Six others were injured.
Kyiv Independent reports that at least one other journalist working for Reuters has been injured when the hotel was hit at 10.35 in the evening of August 24.
“Reuters video journalist Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey remains in critical condition. Our other colleague, Ukraine correspondent Daniel Peleschuk, was treated and has left the hospital,” Reuters says in a statement.
President Zelenskiy says that Hotel Sapphire was hit by a Russian Iskander missile, a ballistic missile that can strike at distances up to 310 miles.
Lubysh-Kirdey’s wife Mariia Semenchenko reports that the cameraman was very close to the epicenter of the explosion and has “sustained numerous injuries” and is now unconscious. He is being treated in Dnipro.
“Not even a week has passed after his injury, so the news is gradually emerging. In the condition in which Ivan is now, one cannot expect rapid improvement and quick recovery, only small deeds,” Semenchenko writes on Facebook.
“As of now, Ivan is serious but stable. Doctors record a small but positive dynamics in his condition. This means that Ivan is struggling and moving in the direction of life. This road will be a long and difficult one.”
Semenchenko says she has been afraid of something like this happening since 2014 when her husband began traveling and filming on the front line.
However, she is “very grateful to everyone” who has provided support, including Reuters. “I believe that Ivan also feels this support,” she adds.
Kyiv Independent notes that Lubysh-Kirdey is an experienced camera operator who covered the Euromaidan Revolution as well as the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014 when Ukrainian soldiers who had been promised safe passage by Russian-backed proxies through a pre-agreed corridor came under attack.
Multiple journalists, videographers, and photographers have been seriously injured or died since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. AFP video coordinator Arman Soldin was killed by rocket fire and accomplished wildlife photographer Denis Krivoy died in the line of duty having signed up to fight for the Ukrainian army.
