Since the beginning of the war, occupying forces have regularly launched strikes against hotel complexes—and even hostels—in Ukraine. These attacks most frequently target frontline cities and regions: Kharkiv, the Donetsk region, and southern Ukraine.

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Russian propaganda routinely claims that these hotels are being used as bases for Ukrainian troops and that such strikes pose no threat to civilians. This assertion has been refuted on numerous occasions. For instance, in the case of the attack on Sumy, just days before the strike on the downtown hotel, the author of this article—journalist and human rights defender Serhii Okunev—visited the premises. He asserts that the facility was operating as a standard hotel: rooms were available for booking both in person and online; ordinary cafes and restaurants with unrestricted public access were open on the ground floor; and there were absolutely no soldiers or military infrastructure present within the building.

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