A freelancer who previously worked on New York Times projects was killed while covering the war in Ukraine, the Times and the US State Department confirmed on Sunday.
What they're saying: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Brent Renaud. Brent was a talented filmmaker who contributed to The New York Times over the years," the Times wrote in a statement emailed to Axios .
"Although he contributed to the Times in the past (most recently in 2015), he was not on assignment for any of the desks at The Times in Ukraine," the statement said. "Early reports that he worked for the Times because he was wearing a Times Press badge that had been issued for an assignment several years earlier."
A State Department spokesman confirmed Renaud's death on Sunday, but declined to give details "out of respect for his family's privacy".
Driving the news: This is the first known American journalist to be killed in a war in Ukraine. Renaud was an award-winning video journalist who also worked on projects for PBS and HBO.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS that the killing was "apparently shocking and horrifying. ... I learned about it when I was here on the air." "The U.S. will consult with Ukraine to measure and execute appropriate results," Sullivan said.
"I would just say that this is part of 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."
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The big picture: The war presents a great risk to journalists in both Ukraine and Russia.
Last week, a Ukrainian camera operator was killed in an attack on a TV tower.
The Russian military opened fire on Western journalists for Sky News last week.
The Times said it would kick all of its journalists out of Russia last week over threats of a new fake news law, but it kept journalists on the ground covering the war in Ukraine, as did other news organizations. .
Be careful: journalists are treated as citizens under international humanitarian law. US More than two dozen governments, including one, have spoken out in support of press freedom around the war.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the death of American journalist Brent Reynaud in Ukraine. Such an attack is completely unacceptable, and a violation of international law,” said Carlos MartÃnez de la Serna, of the Journalists for the Protection A program director of the committee.
"Russian forces in Ukraine must immediately stop all violence against journalists and other civilians, and whoever killed Renaud should be held accountable."
Time said in a statement that it was devastated by the loss of Renaud, who was "in the field working on a Time Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis."
Time Editor in Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal and President and COO Ian Orefis wrote, "Our hearts are with all of Brent's loved ones. It is essential that journalists are able to safely cover this ongoing invasion and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine." be."