Brent Renat, an award-winning American filmmaker who appeared in the New York Times and other outlets, was killed by Russian forces in the town of Irfin in Flash Point, just outside Kiev. American photographer Juan Arredonto was injured.
Renat, 51, was shot dead by Russian gunmen while on duty on Sunday, according to local police and several Ukrainian sources.
Jane Ferguson, a reporter for the nearby PBS Newshow, tweeted when Renat was killed: There was nothing that the Ukrainian doctors could do to help him at that point. Outraged Ukrainian police officer: ‘Tell America, tell the world what they did to a journalist.
The body of American journalist Brent Renat was found lying under a blanket on the roadside near Irfin. There was nothing that the Ukrainian doctors could do to help him at that point. An angry Ukrainian police officer said: “Tell America, tell the world what they did to a journalist.”
– Jane Ferguson (JaneFerguson5) March 13, 2022
Clifford Levy, deputy managing editor of the New York Times, posted a statement on Twitter saying that, contrary to previous reports, Renaud was not working for the paper.
“[The New York Times] I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of an American journalist Ukraine, Brent Renat. Brent is a talented photographer and filmmaker, but he never came to work for the New York Times in Ukraine. Early reports circulated that he had worked for the Times because he was wearing the Times Press badge he had been awarded for a job many years earlier.
Levy added: “Brent’s death is a terrible loss. Brave journalists like Brent take great risks to expose and witness to the world the devastation and suffering caused by Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.
Kyiv regional police chief Andrei Nebitov said in a statement: “Occupiers are brutally killing even journalists from the international media who try to expose the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine.”
Aradonto, 45, a World Press Photo winner and an associate professor at Columbia University, said he and Renault went to film refugees fleeing Irbine and were shot dead by troops near a checkpoint. He filmed describing what happened while he was being treated at the hospital, suggesting they had fled in ambush.
“We crossed the first bridge in Irfin. We are going to film all the refugees who are leaving. We got in a car … Someone offered to take us to another bridge, we passed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us, ”Arrotondo said. “So the driver went back and they kept shooting … there were two of us. My friend Brent Renat, he was shot and left.
When the interviewer asked how Renat was doing, Aradonto replied: “I do not know. I saw he was shot in the neck. We broke up. “
U.S. National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan told CNN: “If an American journalist is killed, it’s a shocking and terrifying event.
“That is why we are working very hard to impose severe consequences on him, and we are trying to assist the Ukrainians in all possible military assistance against the onslaught of these Russian forces.”
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