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By Elizabeth Piper
LONDON (Reuters) – Ryan Evans, who was killed in a missile strike on a lodge in japanese Ukraine, was a security adviser whose wealth of fight expertise {and professional} method made him indispensable to Reuters’ protection of wars and an unfailing supply of assist for a lot of journalists.
Evans, 38, was staying within the lodge within the metropolis of Kramatorsk with a bunch of the information company’s journalists reporting on Ukrainian troops combating on the entrance line in opposition to Russia. Two Reuters journalists have been additionally injured in Saturday’s assault.
The journey was one in every of greater than 20 Evans made to Ukraine after beginning at Reuters in 2022 as a safety adviser, a part of a workforce that assesses the dangers of travelling in battle zones and accompanies journalists within the area to make sure their security.
It was a job he liked and was nicely geared up for after a navy profession within the Royal Welch Fusiliers, throughout which he served excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He was usually dubbed the “gadget man”, his many pockets filled with equipment prepared for any eventuality, and incessantly grew to become an impromptu chef, cooking on a camp range for reporters when there was no energy in elements of Ukraine.
Evans, who was married and a father of 4, additionally labored with Reuters in Israel and the Gaza Strip, and in Paris throughout this 12 months’s Olympic Video games.
He befriended most of the reporters he was serving to keep secure, because of his easy-going method and sharp wit. “Are you okay?” was a query Evans repeatedly requested of journalists he labored with.
“Our pretty son Ryan loved the outside and was not solely bodily sturdy however confirmed nice dedication and tenaciousness. He … in a short time confirmed curiosity in all issues navy,” mentioned his dad and mom, David and Geraldine Evans.
Reuters’ Editor in Chief Alessandra Galloni mentioned: “Ryan performed an instrumental a part of our protection of most of the greatest tales on the planet over the previous few years together with Ukraine, Gaza, the latest Paris Olympics.”
“His steering and professionalism have been invaluable to so a lot of our journalists; we’ll miss him,” she mentioned in a press release.
‘SUNLIGHT INTO OUR HEARTS’
Born in Wrexham in northeastern Wales, Evans entered the military at 17 as an infantry soldier. After leaving in 2010, he began working as an in depth safety officer to British diplomats and different officers in a number of international locations, together with Libya, Tunisia and Syria.
After a quick stint working as an electrician, Evans returned to the job he liked.
“He was calm but strict in a manner that felt reassuring each time the harmful setting we labored in demanded it,” mentioned Thomas Peter, a Kyiv-based Reuters senior photographer who was within the lodge on the time of the strike.
James Mackenzie, Reuters Bureau Chief for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, mentioned Evans was way more than simply the “calm and targeted” security adviser admired by these he labored with.
“He was huge, beneficiant and humorous, at all times prepared to assist even with issues that had nothing to do with safety,” Mackenzie mentioned.
Lee Marzel, Reuters Senior Producer for Video in Jerusalem, mentioned Evans “introduced daylight into our hearts in a time of darkness and sorrow and dropping him has left an enormous gap.”
‘JIGSAW PIECE’
Reuters Editorial security area specialist Ali Baskerville, who employed Evans, mentioned he was her “go-to particular person in each problem”.
“I knew Ryan can be the one that would hold them secure in a conflict zone and nonetheless have time to feed the native canine, and ensure the workforce had sufficient sweets within the automotive and a good playlist,” she mentioned.
“There is a huge distinction between a safety particular person and media security adviser. Ryan was one of the crucial excellent security advisers.”
Regardless of loving to journey, Evans at all times talked about lacking his kids and his spouse Kerrie.
He proposed to Kerrie on the Spanish island of Tenerife in 2022 throughout a break from Ukraine, a proposal made particularly memorable as a result of his excessive sunburn made it too painful for him to kneel down.
“Ryan was and is my jigsaw piece,” Kerrie mentioned. “He was my absolute world.”
(Reporting and writing by Elizabeth Piper, Modifying by Timothy Heritage)
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