Russian missile strikes Aurora hotel in centre of Ukraine filled with civilians

A hotel in the heart of Ukraine has been devastated by what is reported to have been a Russian missile strike, leaving half of the Aurora Hotel in the centre of Kryvyi Rih city obliterated.

The large city of more than 600,000 people was rocked by the explosion of the rocket, which slammed into the large hotel complex in the dead of night. The Kyiv Post has said the building was likely "filled with civilians," with officials stating at least two people have been killed and others injured while rescue teams continue to dig through the rubble.

The missile strike comes amid a new escalation in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has seen the embattled country put the Kremlin on the back foot, with a large-scale invasion of Russian territory by Ukrainian forces. After this, cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, have seen an increasing number of strikes on civilian targets and infrastructure.

The chairman of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, Oleksandr Vikul said in the aftermath of the strike: “The news is bad, specifics after the air raid is done. Everyone is already in place. Rescue and medical services are saving people.”

The large hotel is situated in the centre of the city and primarily serves people travelling for business, being just a few streets away from the Kryvyi Rih train station.

Images of the destruction wrought by the Russian missile shows half of the hotel in ruins, with iron girders jutting out into the night sky, where there once were guest rooms, business conference centres, and a gym.

Videos circulating online show emergency services, including fire engines, rushing to the scene of the airstrike, which took place around 1am local time.

Though it is not yet known if the Aurora Hotel was the intended target of the missile strike, Kryvyi Rih has been a main target for Russia's aerial assault on civilians, situated roughly 50 miles from Russian-controlled Crimea. The city saw the invaders reach its outskirts during the outbreak of the war in 2022, but they were thrown back to Crimea by Ukraine's successful counter-offensive.

With half of the hotel lying in ruins, emergency services in the city said in the early hours of Tuesday that they are undertaking a large search operation to look for more survivors. Acting Mayor of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, confirmed in a public Telegram post that one person had been killed, but said there were more still to be found.

The mayor described the attack as a "Russian missile strike" adding that a rescue operation is taking place to recover "at least five people" believed to be missing after the attack, which levelled a large portion of the hotel and left many buried under rubble.

Local media have reported the number of those hospitalised by the attack as six, with two children receiving medical treatment.

The strike came after Monday's continuous barrage of Russian missiles, which struck across Ukrainian territory targeting energy infrastructure and civilian centres. Authorities in the country said that 127 missiles and 109 drones were used on Monday, injuring 47 and killing seven, before the strike on the Aurora in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The hotel's owners, Optima Hotel and Resorts, describe the Aurora as: "a business hotel located in the central area of the city, on Metalurgiv Avenue. The hotel is designed as an atrium building, which is a unique architectural approach in Kryvyi Rih. It is deservedly regarded as one of the best business hotels in the city.

"It offers 70 modern and functional rooms..., 3 conference rooms, a meeting room, a restaurant, a modern Spa-fitness center, On-site parking is available for 28 cars. "The hotel provides a place for staff and guests to stay during an alarm."

In July, another of the Optima chain's hotels was damaged in the ongoing conflict, with the management telling customers in June: "Today, another hotel was damaged by Russian aggression.

"This time it's Optima Collection Kharkiv, but we continue to work as usual and have already started to restore it. We will survive, we will win!"