An American journalist was killed in Ukraine when he and a colleague came under fire near the capital, Kyiv, regional police and a government official have said.
Russian troops opened fire on the car of Brent Renaud and another journalist in Irpin, about 10km (6 miles) northwest of the capital, the Kyiv police force said in a statement on Sunday. It said the injured journalist was taken to a hospital in Kyiv.
There was no immediate comment from the Russian authorities.
The New York Times, responding to reports that Renaud was a reporter for the paper, said he had previously worked for it but had not been on assignment for the Times in Ukraine.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death,” a spokesperson for the paper said on Twitter, naming the journalist thought to have been killed.
“Brent was a talented filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years.”
Asked about the reports, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News that the United States government would be consulting with the Ukrainians to determine how this happened and would then “execute appropriate consequences”.
“This is part and parcel of what has been a brazen aggression on the part of the Russians, where they have targeted civilians, they have targeted hospitals, they have targeted places of worship, and they have targeted journalists,” Sullivan said.
