Hotel Sapphire at Kramatorsk town in Eastern Ukraine was partly destroyed after being hit by a missile on Saturday night. The hotel is well known among the journalists covering the war in Ukraine and one of the few places in the frontline town that was counted as safe for visiting journalists and volunteers.
As THE WEEK’s photo editor, I covered the war in Ukraine in July 2023 and stayed at this hotel for nearly a week and travelled to the frontline trenches near Bakhmut and Velyka Novosilka from there.
At the time of the latest attack, six journalists of the Reuters news agency were staying at the hotel. "One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to the hospital for treatment," the agency said in a statement.
"Three other colleagues have been accounted for. We are urgently seeking more information, working with the authorities in Kramatorsk, and supporting our colleagues and their families. We will give an update when we have more information," it added.
Reuters has been taking precautions before sending its staff to conflict zones after the death of its chief photographer in India Danish Siddiqui while covering the war in Afghanistan in 2021. He was killed in Spin Boldak near Pakistan- Afghanistan border shortly before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
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During my stay at Hotel Sapphire in 2023, I discussed the war with the hotel staff and learnt that the hotel was previously targeted by a Russian missile. The missile, however, fell short of the target, they said.
I couldn’t sleep the whole night, thinking a missile could hit the hotel anytime as I was hearing air raid sirens constantly. I was even worried to go to the washroom and take a bath. I always felt relieved when I went out of the hotel. It is sad to hear that people who were making a living in war-hit Ukraine by renting out the rooms lost their source of income.
The three-story hotel is situated at the intersection of two main roads. The hotel was only providing stay, not the food, and there were only a few occupants, mostly journalists or volunteers.
Kramatorsk town is frequented by soldiers fighting on the frontlines for shopping essentials. On June 27 last year, famous Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina died along with 13 people as Russia’s Iskendar M missile hit the town. As many as 61 people were injured in the attack.
The same Iskendar M missile is blamed for the attack on the Sapphire Hotel. Russia has not yet commented on the incident. But governor of Donetsk Vadym Filashkin said in a post on Telegram that "the Russians hit Kramatorsk", and that two journalists were injured, while one was missing after a strike on a hotel.
"Authorities, police, and rescuers are working on the spot. Debris clearance and rescue operations are ongoing," he said.
The attack comes after Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. For more than two weeks, Ukraine has been holding more than 1,200 square kilometres of Russian land. Meanwhile, Russia is targeting the eastern town of Pokrovsk and continuing its advance towards the town. Ukraine had ordered citizens of Pokrovsk to evacuate the town last week.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv on August 23 and held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two leaders discussed the current situation and ways to bring peace to Ukraine.
Modi took a 10-hour train journey from Poland to Kyiv, and the historic visit came six weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
