Reuters Staff Hit in Strike on Hotel in Ukraine's Kramatorsk

A man inspects the rubble of a hotel hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine August 24, 2024.  REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A man inspects the rubble of a hotel hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Reuters Staff Hit in Strike on Hotel in Ukraine's Kramatorsk

A man inspects the rubble of a hotel hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine August 24, 2024.  REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A man inspects the rubble of a hotel hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two others were hospitalized after a strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
In a statement, the news agency said that the Hotel Sapphire, where a six-person Reuters crew was staying, was hit by a strike on Saturday.
"One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to hospital for treatment," the agency 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," it added.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, said in a post on Telegram on Sunday morning that "the Russians hit Kramatorsk,” and that two journalists were injured, while one was missing after a strike on a hotel.
"Authorities, police and rescuers are working on the spot. Debris clearance and rescue operations are ongoing," he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Telegram that it had opened a "pre-trial investigation" into the strike, which it said happened at 10:35 p.m. local time (1935 GMT) on Saturday.



Telegram Messaging App CEO Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Telegram Messaging App CEO Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Pavel Durov, CEO and co-founder of Telegram speaks onstage during day one of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015 at Pier 70 on September 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve JENNINGS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources.
Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.
TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.
Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday, according to French media.
The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The French Interior Ministry and police had no comment.
Russian-born Durov founded Telegram with his brother in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he sold.
"I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone," Durov told U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson in April about his exit from Russia and search for a home for his company which included stints in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered - and sometimes graphic and misleading - content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.
The platform has become what some analysts call 'a virtual battlefield' for the war, used heavily by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government.
Telegram – which allows users to evade official scrutiny - has also become one of the few places where Russians can access independent news about the war after the Kremlin increased curbs on independent media following its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry said its embassy in Paris was clarifying the situation around Durov and called on Western non-governmental organizations to demand his release.