An American journalist was killed and another wounded by bullets on Sunday in Irpin, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, according to agreed sources. The two men were shot down at noon while riding with a Ukrainian civilian who was also injured, Daniil Shapovalov, a Ukrainian forces doctor who treated the victims, told AFP.
The Ukrainian authorities were quick to blame their Russian enemies for opening fire on the journalists, but it was difficult to immediately determine the origin of the shots. AFP journalists who were in the area on Sunday heard artillery and small arms fire there.
First foreign journalist killed since conflict began
An AFP reporter saw the body of the murdered journalist, who had identification documents, including a New York Times accreditation card. This is 50-year-old Brent Reno, a photographer and filmmaker, according to an American newspaper in a press release. According to this statement, he worked for The New York Times in the past, but did not work for it in Ukraine.
He became the first foreign journalist to die since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Another American journalist, apparently slightly injured, testified in a video posted on social media.