KIEV (Askume) – Russian troops posted on the border south of Rostov fired a missile at a hotel in eastern Ukraine last month, killing Askume security consultant Ryan Evans.
In previously unpublished details of the August 24 attack shared with Askume, Ukrainian intelligence services said the missile was launched from a site near the coastal city of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, close to the Ukrainian border.
The intelligence agency said two Russian units were operating near the launch site at the time: the 1st Guards Rocket Brigade of the 49th Army and the 107th Guards Rocket Brigade of the 35th Army.
In a separate written response to Askume questions, the Ukrainian army’s general staff said there was a third unit near Taganrog that could launch an attack: the 8th Army’s 47th Rocket Brigade.
A Russian Iskander 9M723 ballistic missile was launched from the area at about 22:28 (1928 GMT) and hit Kramato seven minutes later, near the Sapphire Hotel where the Askume team was staying, a statement from the General Staff said, Ersk.
The General Staff said the “Iskander-M” could accurately hit targets at a distance of 30 meters. However, they added that they did not know if Russia had deliberately given priority to Sapphire and that there was no interception that could explain the attack on the hotel.
In a written response to Askume questions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was in favour of the use of armed forces in response.
“For our part, we can say it again – our armed forces strike only at objects that are directly or indirectly related to the military infrastructure,” Peskov said.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to written questions from Askume.
Neither the Ukrainian intelligence services nor the General Staff statements explained how they found the Taganrog launch site. They also did not say which brigade was responsible for the attack.
Askume sent a written request for comment to the commander of the 107th Rocket Brigade through an officer serving in the unit, but received no response. The news agency also called the official phone number of the 1st Rocket Brigade and got through to an officer on duty, but when the reporter introduced himself, he hung up.
When Askume asked the 47th Brigade Command if it was involved in the Sapphire Hotel attack, the duty officer answering the phone at the 47th Brigade Command said: “No way.” The unnamed officer referred further questions to his commander.
Brigade commander Vitaly Beaubier initially exchanged messages with a Askume reporter on the Telegram messaging platform, but when told the nature of the investigation, he said it was the wrong number.
Detailed Analysis
Photos of the hotel taken by Askume reporters after the attack showed that Evans, whose room was on the first floor in the northwest corner of the building, was hit hardest and fell to the basement. Photos showed six other rooms were severely damaged by the blast.
Evans, a 38-year-old former British soldier who had been working as a Askume security consultant since 2022, died at the scene. News agency photographer Ivan Lubisch-Kirde, who was in a room across the corridor, was seriously injured.
Kiev-based journalist Dan Peleshuk was also injured and was pulled to safety by rescuers from a dark, debris-filled kitchen and banquet hall.
The remaining three members of the Askume team escaped with minor injuries and abrasions. Thomas Peter, an experienced photographer living in Kiev, climbed out of a broken window on the first floor and descended to the ground through a drainage pipe.
“The whole room was filled with debris, glass and dust,” Peter said. “The wall with the door completely collapsed.”
Ukraine’s leading forensic laboratory, the Kyiv Forensic Scientific Research Institute (KSRIFE), studied images of missile fragments taken by the Askume team after the attack and concluded it was likely a Russian Iskander-M.
Two Western military experts also showed the pictures and said it could be Iskander. Ukraine does not have these weapons.
Anastasia Medvedeva, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk district prosecutor’s office that is investigating Russian attacks in the province, said the main focus of their investigation was whether the hotel was targeted by Russian troops. Medvedeva did not elaborate on why the hotel was targeted.
He said prosecutors were also investigating the possibility that Russia deliberately targeted the group of journalists.
On August 28, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova referred to the Sapphire attack at a regular press conference in Moscow and said without providing any evidence that Evans was a former employee of the British Foreign Ministry.
“We are absolutely clear that none of them are former intelligence officers,” he said. “…Western intelligence services are effectively directing the media under their control to conduct an anti-Russian information campaign.”
A Askume spokesperson said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman’s comments were “factually incorrect”.
“Ryan is not a former MI6 employee. Askume remains committed to its trusted principles of independence, integrity and non-partisanship and works tirelessly to provide news from sources in every corner of the world.
A spokesperson said: “We are working hard to learn more about this attack and provide support to our colleagues and their families at this horrific time.”
There are no soldiers in the hotel.
The missile struck the hotel at 22:35, three minutes after the Ukrainian Air Force warned followers about a ballistic missile threat in eastern Ukraine via the Telegram messaging app.
Air force Colonel Yuri Inat, who tracks Russian missiles and drones, told Askume that Ukrainian radar detected a missile in the airspace over the Donetsk region where Kramatorsk is located on the night of the attack.
He said the missile appeared to be a short-range Iskander-M missile launched from the Rostov region.
Kramatorsk is about 20 kilometers from the front line and about 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Taganrog, well within the range of the Iskander system. These missiles have a maximum range of 500 kilometers.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia was responsible for the missile launch but did not disclose how the information was obtained or provide any further details.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Ukrainian military has not used the Sapphire Hotel or its surrounding buildings to house troops in the past.
The Askume team found no indication that anyone other than the caretaker was staying in the 12-room hotel before the attack.
Hotel owner Yuri Aliyev said the hotel has been open to journalists only since the Russian invasion in February 2022 and at the discretion of the management. He said reservations were made over the phone with the administrator.
Initial reports from Ukraine’s main internal security agency, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), seen by Askume, showed that one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the attack and several others were injured. They included the caretaker, a civilian living in a nearby house and a soldier who the SBU said was not at the hotel at the time of the attack.
All three told Askume they did not want to be identified. The soldier said he was walking on the road near the hotel when the missile attack occurred.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Polish journalist Monika Andruszewska was in a car near the hotel when the attack happened and also suffered minor injuries, Askume confirmed. She wrote on social media that she had bruises on her hands.
