American journalist, filmmaker killed in Ukraine

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Journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud has been killed while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Renaud was killed near Irpin, Ukraine, Sunday, March 13, 2022. Ukrainian police released a photo of his body and an image of an old New York Times press badge with his name as evidence of his death.

Juan Arredondo, a Colombian-American photographer, was injured in the attack that killed Renaud. Arredondo said that Renaud was shot in the neck in an attack at the hands of Russian forces.

Renaud is the first foreign journalist to be killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started Feb. 24, 2022. A Ukranian camera operator named Yevhenii Sakun was killed in the country earlier in March when Russian artillery shelled a TV tower near Kyiv.

Renaud, who was a filmmaker, was working for Time magazine’s Time Studios on a project about the global refugee crisis around the world and traveled to the region once the attack broke out.

He frequently worked with his brother Craig, including on a project around the Iraqi conflict. Combined, the two have worked for Discovery, HBO, Vice News and was previously a contributor to The New York Times.

Renaud’s death, if proven to be at from Russian forces, would be a violation of international law, though it’s not clear how likely it would be that the perpetrators could be identified or successfully prosecuted in an international court.

“Russian forces in Ukraine must stop all violence against journalists and other civilians at once, and whoever killed Renaud should be held to account,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement issued after Renaud’s death.

Most journalists who report from war zones are equipped with safety gear, including helmets and vests or jackets that clearly identify them as “press” in an attempt to separate them from military forces.

Renaud was 50.