Putin unleashes his fury & launches missile strike at Ukraine hitting hotel with one journalist missing & 2 injured

RUSSIA launched an airstrike at a hotel in eastern Ukraine injuring two journalists with one still missing.

An urgent search has been launched for the missing Reuters reporter who is believed to be trapped in the rubble, with officials confirming the three are British, American and Ukrainian.

AFP

Ukrainian emergency services conduct a search and rescue operation in the rubble of the destroyed hotel[/caption]

Ukrainian firefighters at the scene

Rescue workers dig through the rubble

Press at the scene of the strike on Sunday

The news agency confirmed that the Hotel Sapphire, where a six-person Reuters crew was staying, was hit “by an apparent missile strike” on Saturday.

They said: “One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to hospital for treatment.”

Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional government, said that a Russian missile hit in Kramatorsk at around 10.35pm.

He said: “A hotel was targeted in the city — two people are currently known to be wounded, and one person is under the rubble.

“All three victims are journalists, citizens of Ukraine, the US and the UK.

“Authorities, police and rescuers are working at the scene. The rubble is being cleared and rescue operations are underway.”

A high-rise building near the hotel was also damaged in the hit.

Video shared online by Ukrainian Government advisor Anton Gerashchenko showed the destroyed inside of the hotel with rubble and broken glass scattered everywhere.

Reuters also said: “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.”

Ukrainian officials said on Telegram that an investigation had been launched into the strike which hit just after 10.30pm.

They said: “Russian troops struck the city of Kramatorsk, probably with an Iskander-M missile.”

Kramatorsk is the last major city in the Donbas which is still under Ukrainian control.

It is about 13 miles from the gruelling 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.

AFP or licensors

An emergency worker inside the blitzed hotel[/caption]

Rescue workers dig through rubble

Rubble and glass covered the floor of the hotel after the strike

A view of the destroyed hotel