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Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian hotels expose deliberate campaign on foreign reporters

Foreign editorials often do not get what is happening.
byOlena Mukhina
17/05/2025
3 minute read
Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, on the evening of 5 March, resulting in two fatalities and at least 14 injuries when a five-story hotel was struck. Photo: SES of Ukraine
Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian hotels expose deliberate campaign on foreign reporters

Russian strikes hotels to silence journalists. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia has targeted at least 25 hotels near the front lines in Ukraine—a deliberate campaign, The Washington Post reports. 

What initially appeared to be random strikes have turned into a systemic threat. Over the past year, attacks on hotels have become more frequent, turning journalists into targets.

Russian missiles have struck with precision—the report emphasizes these were not accidents but coordinated strikes. Since 2022, at least 24 journalists have been injured, and one has been killed as a result of hotel bombings, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Truth Hounds.

“These attacks are part of a larger strategy to sow terror and seek to reduce coverage of the war,” says Pauline Maufrais, regional officer for Ukraine at Reporters Without Borders. 

The hotels hit were not military sites, and “journalists are not mercenaries,” despite Russian propaganda claims.

Russia justifies the strikes by alleging that military personnel were staying in the hotels, but the report refutes these claims: the primary occupants were media workers, since overnight stays in front-line areas are prohibited for international organizations.

After the missile strike on the Park Hotel in Kharkiv on 10 January 2024, injured French producer Violetta Pedorych, switched to renting apartments.

More and more journalists are avoiding hotel stays or suspending fieldwork altogether. According to the report, 64% of journalists acknowledged that the attacks have hindered their work. Additionally, 13% of media outlets have reduced or completely halted frontline deployments.

Experts also note that safety decisions are often made by foreign managers unfamiliar with conditions in Ukraine. One example is the attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk, in which two members of a media crew were injured and their security advisor was killed.

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