Published 13th Mar, 2022

By Lolade Olu-Ojegbeje

Brent Renaud, an American journalist, has been killed while covering the Russia-Ukraine crisis in Irpin, outside Kyiv, on Sunday.

According to Daily Mail, Renaud was in a car with other journalists when Russian troops opened fire. He died after being shot in the neck, while one of his colleagues was injured.

Renaud’s death was announced by Andrey Nebitov, head, Kyiv’s Police Department. In a statement, Nebitov said Renaud had been killed by Russian soldiers. “The occupiers are cynically killing even journalists of international media who are trying to show the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine,” he said.

Renaud was initially thought to have been on assignment for The New York Times after a press badge of the newspaper was found on him.

However, New York Times, in a statement, said the press badge was issued a long time ago. “Early reports that he worked for Times circulated because he was wearing a Times press badge he had been issued for an assignment many years ago,” the Newspaper wrote.

Juan Arredondo, another journalist in the vehicle with Renaud, said he was shot in the neck and had to be left behind.

”We had crossed the first bridge in Irpin. We were going to film other refugees leaving, and we got into a car. Somebody offered to take us to the other bridge. We crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us. The driver turned around; there were two of us. My friend is Brent Renaud. He has been shot and left behind. I saw he has been shot in the neck. We got split,” he said.

Renaud’s death is the first reported death of a foreign journalist covering the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.

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