An American journalist was killed by Russian troops in Ukraine on Sunday (March 13), according to Ukranian police. Brent Renaud, a 51-year-old award-winning writer and filmmaker, was fatally shot when Russian forces opened fire on a car near the Romanivsky Bridge in the town of Irpin, near the capital of Kyiv, per a Facebook post by the head of Kyiv’s regional police unit, Andriy Nebytov. Another reporter was also wounded in the attack and hospitalized, Nebytov wrote.
Learn more about the slain journalist, below.
1. Renaud worked for The New York Times,
“We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death. Brent was a talented filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years,” a New York Times spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson went on to s.y Renaud had most recently worked for the outlet in 2015, but he “was not on assignment for any desk at The Times in Ukraine” at the time of his death.
2. He won a Peabody Award.
In 2015, Renaud took home a Peabody Award for an eight-part documentary. The Vice News production focused on a Chicago school for students with severe emotional issues.
3. Renaud worked alongside his brother.
Renauld won the Peabody Award with his brother, Craig Renaud. The pair worked together in New York City and Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the website for their documentary company, The Renaud Brothers. “The Renaud’s have spent the last decade telling humanistic verite stories from the World’s hot spots,” reads the bio. “Their film and television projects have covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, political turmoil in Egypt and Libya, the fight for Mosul, extremism in Africa, cartel violence in Mexico, and the youth refugee crisis in Central America.”
4. A Facebook post revealed Renaud’s death.
The Kyiv officer Nebytov posted a graphic photo reportedly of Renaud’s body on Facebook, alongside his media credentials from The New York Times, as well as his passport. The heartbreaking caption read, “The occupants cynical kill even journalists of the international media who try to show the truth about the inaction of Russian troops in Ukraine. A 51-year-old world-renowned media correspondent was shot in Irpen today. New York Times. Another journalist is injured. Now they are trying to remove the victim from the war zone. Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renaud paid his life for trying to highlight the aggressor’s ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness.”
5. The White House called Renaud’s death ‘shocking and horrifying’
During the news program Face the Nation on Sunday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan called Renaud’s death “shocking and horrifying” and said “appropriate consequences” will be taken against Russia by the U.S. and allies. “I will just say that 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 added.