Russia struck hotel in Kramatorsk Donetsk Oblast: Two journalists injured, one trapped under rubble

The Russian Armed Forces struck a hotel in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Oblast overnight on August 25, 2024. Russians injured at least two people and trapped another under the rubble, the Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

The consequences of the shelling of Kramatorsk on August 25

According to him, all three victims are journalists, citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Additionally, Russians also damaged a residential building, Filashkin added.

Rescuers are working at the scene of a Russian missile strike on a hotel in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on August 25, 2024

“Authorities, police, and rescuers are working at the scene. Debris removal and rescue operations are ongoing,” he wrote.

To provide background, on Saturday, August 24, 2024, Russian forces shelled the city center of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region, killing five civilians and injuring at least five more.

On the evening of August 21, 2024, Russian forces struck the City of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk Oblast, killing a 65-year-old man.

Three private houses, three residential buildings, three administrative buildings, two production premises, three power lines, a gas pipe and three cars were damaged as well.

Moreover, on the afternoon of August 19, 2024, the Russian military attacked the City of Toretsk and the village of Zarichne in the Donetsk Oblast. According to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, as a result of the attack, Russians killed four local residents, 

Reports indicate in that attack, Russians used artillery against the civilian population. A 71-year-old pensioner succumbed to a severe shrapnel wound in the yard of her home.

In addition, the village of Zarichne of Lyman hromadaі A hromada (Ukrainian: громада) is a territorial community that typically includes one or several settlements (villages, towns, or cities) and has its own local self-governance structure. Hromadas are part of Ukraine's decentralization reform, which aims to give more power and resources to local governments. came under Russian attack. The ammunition hit the residential area. Three civilians aged between 61 and 72 – a man and a married couple – received fatal injuries on the street.” 

Based on these facts, a pre-trial investigation was started under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war).

Filashkin reminded locals that they should evacuate from settlements in Donetsk Oblast due to constant Russian attacks.

To provide context, the UK Defence Intelligence in its review has noted that although top Russian officials claim they are willing to negotiate, Russia has not abandoned its original goals regarding Ukraine. 

The UK Defence Ministry cites Dmitry Rogozin, a former Russian deputy prime minister and illegitimate “senator” for the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, who boasted of having destroyed Ukrainian books, called for all ‘’Ukrainian-ness to be burnt out at the root”, and said that any truce with Ukraine would mean “certain death for our children”.

These comments are the latest in a long line of Ukrainophobic sentiments by senior Russian officials that undermine and threaten Ukrainian identity and culture. There are likely many individuals within the Russian state who retain maximalist objectives for the war, including the destruction of Ukrainian culture, identity, and statehood. This is despite the alleged Russian willingness to negotiate, as repeated by presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on 1 July 2024.”

The review also recalled Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s statement in 2017 that “not many countries have sovereignty”.

Earlier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyy, revealed that since 24 February 2022, Russian missiles and drones have hit 11,879 facilities in Ukraine, with 6,203 being civilian and 5,676 military, Expres Defense reports.

He added that the Russians used 9,590 missiles and 13,997 drones to attack Ukraine, of which 2,429 missiles and 5,972 drones were shot down.

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured in Ukraine in July 2024, which makes it the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stated that the high number of casualties in July continues a trend of increasing civilian casualties since March 2024.

The UN pointed out that a large-scale coordinated attack launched by the Russian Armed Forces across Ukraine on July 8, 2024, killed at least 43 civilians, including 5 children, and injured 147, including 7 children, in Kyiv City, Dnipro City, Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Kyiv region.

One missile in the 8 July attack also struck a hospital complex in Kyiv city, destroying the toxicology department of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital and significantly damaging the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

In June and July, the most intensive offensive military operations by the Russian Armed Forces shifted from the northern Kharkiv region to the Donetsk region, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine noted. As a result, verified civilian casualties in the Donetsk region increased from 125 civilians killed or injured in May to 224 in June and 269 in July 2024.

The vast majority of civilian casualties (90%) and damage to educational and health facilities (86%) continued to occur in Government-controlled territory.

As for now, it is impossible to determine the exact number of all casualties, as Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and the representatives of the ICC have no access to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.