US journalist Brent Renaud 'killed in Ukraine'
Sun, 13 March 2022, 9:00 pm
Brent Renaud - Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Peabody Awards
An American journalist has been shot dead by Russian forces in Ukraine, according to reports.
Brent Renaud, a video journalist, was in a car with other foreign members of the press when troops opened fire on the vehicle, the head of the Kyiv Police Department said.
The 51-year-old’s colleague is said to have been wounded and is receiving medical attention in hospital.
Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, called Mr Renaud's death "shocking and horrifying".
"We will obviously be tracking this latest development very closely and will be responding accordingly," he told CBS's Face the Nation.
It is believed the journalists were filming refugees leaving a checkpoint in Irpin and had just crossed a checkpoint before being shot at.
Danylo Shapovalov, a surgeon volunteering for the Ukrainian territorial defence, said one of the Americans died instantly and that he had treated the other.
Andriy Nebytov, the police chief of the Kyiv region, said on Facebook: "Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renaud paid his life for trying to highlight the aggressor's ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness."
The New York Times, where Mr Renaud previously contributed, said the organisation "is deeply saddened to learn of the death of an American journalist in Ukraine, Brent Renaud".
It added: "Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker, but he was not on assignment for @nytimes in Ukraine."
