Russia bombs a hotel where journalists were staying, five people die in a Ukrainian bombing in Belgorod

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Five people were killed in a Ukrainian airstrike in the Russian border region of Belgorod, officials said Sunday, while Russian forces attacked a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving a journalist missing and two others wounded.

Another 12 people were injured in the Russian town of Rakitone, 38 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, including a 16-year-old girl who was in critical condition, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Another man was also killed in a separate drone strike in the border town of Solovevka, he later wrote on social media.

LOOK: What Ukraine stands to gain or lose from seizing Russian territory in Kursk

Russian forces attacked a hotel overnight in the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, wounding two people and leaving one trapped under rubble, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. The attackers were reported to be journalists from Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Reuters news agency reported on Sunday that its journalist covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two other team members were hospitalized after the Sapphire Hotel, where a crew of six was staying, was hit “by an apparent missile attack” on Saturday. “One of our colleagues is missing, while two others have been taken to hospital for treatment,” the agency said.

The rest of the team has already been located, according to the news agency.

Local officials said the hotel had been hit by a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile, leaving journalists with blast injuries, concussions and cuts to their bodies.

Associated Press reporters at the scene described the former hotel as “rubble” and bulldozers were still being used to clear the debris hours after the attack.

In addition to the hotel, a nearby multi-storey building was also destroyed, Filashkin said, and rescuers were busy clearing debris at the site.

Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region was also attacked by Russia, resulting in multiple civilian injuries, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

In the Chuhuiv region of Kharkiv, five people were injured, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, after two houses were hit by Russian fire. In the city of Kharkiv, eight people were injured when a two-storey house was set on fire by a Russian strike.

In Balakliia, a Russian attack destroyed six houses and damaged others. A 55-year-old man was injured. In the Kupiansk area, a Russian attack burned down a house and injured four women.