Ukrainian authorities on Sunday said American journalist Brent Renaud was killed and two other journalists wounded after hit by gunfire from Russian forces near Kyiv.
The Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv Region Andrew Nebytov posted photos on Sunday via Facebook showing Renaud’s press badge and reporting his death. In a later post, Nebytov confirmed two more journalists were injured and hospitalized.
A video released showing an American identified only as “Juan” receiving medical treatment and telling an unidentified camerawoman that he was with Renaud when they crossed a checkpoint and came under fire. He said he saw Renaud get shot in the neck, but the two were split up and he didn’t know Renaud’s condition.
Journalist Paul Ronzheimer tweeted video he captured showing a wounded colleague of Renaud’s being evacuated from the area. “A 51-year-old US journalist was killed today in Irpin, a Kyiv suburb. His colleague, with whom he was traveling, was injured and rescued. The video we took under the bridge shows the evacuation of the injured colleague,” Ronzheimer’s tweet said, according to a translation.
Renaud was wearing a New York Times press badge, though was not working for the publication at the time of his death and hadn’t since 2015, according to a statement released by The New York Time on Sunday morning. “We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death. Brent was a talented filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years,” the statement added.
Renaud was in Ukraine on assignments for a TIME Studios project about refugees, TIME confirmed in a statement on Sunday.
“We are devastated by the loss of Brent Renaud. As an award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Brent tackled the toughest stories around the world often alongside his brother Craig Renaud,” TIME’s statement said. “In recent weeks, Brent was in the region working on a TIME Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis.”
The Military Reporters & Editors Association released a statement of condolences for Renaud’s death and also calling for the protection of journalists in combat zones.
“Renaud was telling the stories of people who have been under relentless attack since Russia launched a full-scale war on Ukraine in late February. He and other journalists allow the entire world to bear witness to the unfolding nightmare inside Ukraine. Journalists who report from combat zones risk their lives to make sure that victims of war are not treated as nameless statics,” the statement said.
