- An American journalist was reportedly shot and killed while covering the war in Ukraine.
- The chief of police in Kyiv said that video journalist Brent Renault was shot dead in Irpin, his partner was wounded.
- Although Reno had a press pass for the New York Times, the newspaper reported that he was not there on assignment.
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According to the chief of the Kiev regional police, an American journalist was shot while covering the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
“Today, a 51-year-old correspondent of a world-famous media outlet was shot dead in Irpin,” police chief Andrei Nebytov wrote on Facebook, referring to the war-torn city west of Kyiv. “Another journalist has been wounded. Now they are trying to take the victim out of the combat zone.”
A social media post identified the deceased journalist as award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent Reno. The post featured images of Renault’s passport and a New York Times press pass.
Deputy Managing Editor of The New York Times tweeted on sunday that Renault was not on duty in the newspaper while he was in Ukraine.
The Times is “deeply saddened to learn of the death of American journalist in Ukraine Brent Renault,” said Cliff Levy. “Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker, but he wasn’t on assignment for @New York Times in Ukraine.”
“He was wearing a Times Press badge that had been issued many years ago for an assignment,” The Times said in a statement.
Irpin, located west of Kyiv, was heavily damaged during the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
“An absolute humanitarian catastrophe reigns in Irpen and nearby villages. Russian soldiers have occupied Vorzel, Gostomel, Zabucha and Mikhailovka-Rubezhovka and do not let residents out of their own homes,” said the former mayor of the city. Ukrainian journalists. The former mayor said Russian troops fired on homes and hospitals.
According to his IMDB biography, Reno has received numerous awards for his work, including a Peabody and DuPont award. He has been producing films for two decades. The biography states that he often produced films with his brother Craig.
Reno was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the filmmaker’s short biography from the Tribeca Film Festival.
“Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renault paid with his life for trying to emphasize the ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness of the aggressor,” Nebytov said.
This was reported by PBS NewsHour correspondent Jane Ferguson. Twitter that she saw Renault’s body “under the covers” in Irpin.
“Ukrainian doctors at that stage could not help him,” Ferguson said. She said an “outraged Ukrainian officer” told her to “tell America, tell the world what they did to the journalist.”
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s unicameral legislature, said on Telegram that Renault’s partner does not yet know he has died.