A woman carries her dog during the evacuation by civilians of the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on March 8, 2022.聽 More than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion less than two weeks ago, the United Nations said on March 8, 2022. (AFP)
IRPIN, Ukraine 鈥� A US journalist was shot dead and another wounded on Sunday in Irpin, a frontline suburb of Kyiv that has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Video documentary maker Brent Renaud, 50, was working for Time Studios on a project about global refugee issues, the media outlet said.
鈥淲e are devastated by the loss of Brent Renaud,鈥� Time editor in chief Edward Felsenthal said in a statement.
鈥淥ur hearts are with all of Brent鈥檚 loved ones. It is essential that journalists are able to safely cover this ongoing invasion and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.鈥�
A New York Times identity card was among Renaud鈥檚 papers, leading to earlier reports he worked for the paper.
The International Federation of Journalists identified the wounded reporter as American photographer Juan Arredondo.
A third victim, a Ukrainian who had been in the same car as the Americans, was also wounded, according to a medic at the scene.
AFP reporters in Irpin saw Ukrainian volunteer soldiers rush the body on a stretcher to a more secure location before laying it out on the ground for further identification.
Danylo Shapovalov, a surgeon volunteering for the Ukrainian territorial defence, said Renaud died instantly from a gunshot wound to his neck.
Ukrainian officials were quick to blame Russian forces for the shooting, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it 鈥渁 deliberate attack by the Russian military.鈥�
鈥淭hey knew what they were doing,鈥� Zelensky said.
AFP reporters heard small arms and artillery fire in the area, which runs along the front splitting Ukrainian positions from advancing Russian forces.
鈥淭he car was shot at. There were two journalists and one of ours,鈥� Shapovalov told AFP.
鈥淥ur guy and the journalist are wounded, I provided them first aid, the other one received a wound in the neck, he died immediately.鈥�
鈥楾hey kept shooting鈥�
The New York Times called Renaud 鈥渁 talented photographer and filmmaker鈥� who last contributed to the paper in 2015.
Arredondo said in a news video clip of him in his hospital bed that the reporters鈥� vehicle came under attack after crossing a Ukrainian-controlled checkpoint.
鈥淲e were going to film other refugees leaving. We got into a car, someone offered to take us to the other bridge,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us, so the driver turned around and they kept shooting.鈥�
Ukrainian officials immediately blamed Russian forces for the attack, which occurred near a bridge leading from Irpin to the flashpoint town of Bucha, now under Russian control.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said US officials would consult with Kyiv to determine the circumstances of the attack.
鈥淲e鈥檒l鈥� measure and execute appropriate consequences,鈥� Sullivan told CBS television.
Renaud won Harvard University鈥檚 Nieman Fellowship in 2019, which he used to report on a wide range of global stories, including Black Lives Matter protests in his native Little Rock, Arkansas.
His other work included an HBO documentary on heroin addiction and reports on Africa and the Middle East, according to his official Nieman biography.
Renaud becomes the first foreign reporter killed in Ukraine since the Russian assault began on February 24.
A Ukrainian journalist died during a Russian missile strike aimed at Kyiv鈥檚 television tower, which killed five people walking in the area on March 1.