Russia Launches Overnight Attack on Ukraine, Targets Hotel Housing Journalists in Kramatorsk

Russian troops launched an overnight attack on Ukraine, using a variety of missiles, including ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk.

The nighttime Russian strike targeted a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, wounding two journalists. Authorities reported that a third journalist was missing in the rubble.

Early Sunday morning, August 25, Russia attacked frontline regions of Ukraine with various types of missiles. According to Oleschuk, the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions were hit.

Russian troops used land-based missiles, launched from the Voronezh and Rostov regions, including Iskander-K cruise missiles and Iskander-M ballistic missiles. They also launched six Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missiles from Russian Kursk and Belgorod regions.

“Thanks to the active efforts of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” Oleschuk said.

Russia also deployed nine Shahed kamikaze drones from Cape Chauda in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Eight of these drones were shot down by mobile fire units in the Mykolaiv region.

According to Vitaly Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), the fall of drone fragments damaged civilian structures and caused a fire, though no casualties were reported.

“As a result of falling debris, around 15 residential and farm buildings were damaged in the Mykolaiv district,” Kim added.

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The Prosecutor General's Office reported via Telegram that on August 24, at 10:35 p.m., Russian forces likely struck Kramatorsk with an Iskander-M missile. Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk OVA, wrote in a Telegram statement that the Russian attack on Kramatorsk specifically targeted a hotel.

Kramatorsk, the last major city in the Donbas region still under Ukrainian control, lies about 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the front lines. Before Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the city had a population of around 150,000 but has since been the target of numerous attacks.

As of 8:00 a.m., authorities reported two wounded individuals, while one person remained trapped under the rubble. All three victims are journalists from Ukraine, the USA, and Great Britain.

"Two journalists of a foreign media, aged 38 and 40, were injured at a local hotel that was destroyed in the attack," the Prosecutor General's Office statement read.

The journalists were diagnosed with mine-explosive injuries, brain contusions, leg fractures, and multiple contusions and cuts. They received emergency medical care on-site. 

A pre-trial investigation has been launched under criminal proceedings for violating the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

In addition to the hotel, a nearby high-rise building was also damaged. Authorities, police, and rescue teams are currently on the scene, clearing debris and conducting rescue operations.

Meanwhile, Kharkiv also suffered two hits as a result of the Russian attack that night.

“Unfortunately, Kharkiv is under fire again. There were two strikes,” said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

He reported that in the Slobidsky district, more than ten private homes were damaged, with two destroyed.

Terekhov disclosed that six people in the area suffered injuries of varying severity.

The second strike hit a gas line, causing a fire that firefighters have since managed to contain.

All emergency services are currently on the scene, the mayor added.

According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, shelling was recorded in the Slobidsky and Industrial districts of the city.

Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Dmytro Chubenko specified that one person was injured in the Slobidsky district, while five others experienced acute stress reactions.

In Chuhuiv, an economic building was struck by Russian forces, igniting a fire in an adjacent structure. Five people were injured, including two children.

Chubenko added that Russian troops likely used air-launched Kh-59 missiles for these strikes.