American journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud was shot and killed by Russian troops in Ukraine on Sunday, according to media reports, with Biden administration officials calling the death another “example of the brutality” of Russian forces.
Mr. Renaud, a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, was killed in Irpin, near the capital of Kyiv. Ukrainian law enforcement officials told Western media outlets that another journalist was injured in the attack and has been hospitalized.
Mr. Renaud was a past contributor to the New York Times.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death,” the Times said in a statement Sunday morning, “Brent was a talented photographer and filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years.”
Despite earlier reports, Mr. Renaud was not on assignment with the Times in Ukraine when he was killed, the paper said.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials condemned the killing Sunday.
“If in fact an American journalist was killed, it is a shocking and horrifying event,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It is one more example of the brutality of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and his forces, as they’ve targeted schools and mosques and hospitals and journalists. And it’s why we’re working so hard to impose severe consequences on him and to try to help the Ukrainians with every form of military assistance we can muster to be able to push back against the onslaught of these Russian forces.”
