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 gaggle 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 all greater than 20 Evans made to Ukraine after beginning at Reuters in 2022 as a safety adviser, a part of a staff that assesses the dangers of travelling in battle zones and accompanies journalists within the discipline to make sure their security.

It was a job he beloved and was effectively geared up for after a army profession within the Royal Welch Fusiliers, throughout which he served excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

He was typically dubbed the “gadget man”, his many pockets filled with package prepared for any eventuality, and regularly grew to become an impromptu chef, cooking on a camp range for reporters when there was no energy in components 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 yr’s Olympic Video games. 

He befriended lots of the reporters he was serving to keep protected, due to his easy-going method and sharp wit. “Are you okay?” was a query Evans repeatedly requested of journalists he labored with.

“Our beautiful son Ryan loved the outside and was not solely bodily robust however confirmed nice willpower and tenaciousness. He … in a short time confirmed curiosity in all issues army,” stated his dad and mom, David and Geraldine Evans.

Reuters’ Editor in Chief Alessandra Galloni stated: “Ryan performed an instrumental a part of our protection of lots of the greatest tales on the earth 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 stated in an announcement.

‘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 nations, together with Libya, Tunisia and Syria. 

After a short stint working as an electrician, Evans returned to the job he beloved.

“He was calm but strict in a means that felt reassuring every time the harmful setting we labored in demanded it,” stated 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, stated Evans was way more than simply the “calm and targeted” security adviser admired by these he labored with.

“He was huge, beneficiant and humorous, all the time prepared to assist even with issues that had nothing to do with safety,” Mackenzie stated.

Lee Marzel, Reuters Senior Producer for Video in Jerusalem, stated Evans “introduced daylight into our hearts in a time of darkness and sorrow and shedding him has left an enormous gap.”

‘JIGSAW PIECE’ 

Reuters Editorial security discipline specialist Ali Baskerville, who employed Evans, stated he was her “go-to particular person in each problem”.

“I knew Ryan could be the one that would preserve them protected in a battle zone and nonetheless have time to feed the native canine, and ensure the staff had sufficient sweets within the automotive and an honest playlist,” she stated.

“There is a huge distinction between a safety particular person and media security adviser. Ryan was one of the excellent security advisers.” 

Regardless of loving to journey, Evans all the time 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 stated. “He was my absolute world.”

(Reporting and writing by Elizabeth Piper, Modifying by Timothy Heritage)