An American journalist Brent Renaud was shot dead and another wounded on Sunday in the Kyiv border suburb of Irpin, which has seen some fierce fight since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Papers found his body as an American reporter’s body and identified him as 50-year-old video documentary shooter Brent Renaud of New York.
The newspapers also included an identity card from the New York Times, which led to reports that he worked for the newspaper, but the American daily said he was not working for it at the time of his death.
The International Federation of Journalists has identified the injured reporter as American photographer Juan Arredondo.
A third victim, a Ukrainian who was in the same car as the Americans, was also injured, according to a doctor at the scene.
AFP journalists in Irpin watched as volunteer soldiers from Ukraine carried the body on a stretcher to a more secure location before laying it on the ground for further identification.
Danylo Shapovalov, a surgeon who volunteered for the Ukrainian territorial defence, said Renaud died immediately after being shot in the neck.
Ukrainian officials blamed the Russian military for the shooting, but the exact circumstances were unclear.
AFP journalists heard small arms and artillery fire in the area, alongside advancing Russian forces dividing Ukrainian positions.
Shapovalov told AFP the Russian soldiers shot down the car. There were two journalists, and one of us, one guy and the journalist, were injured. I gave them first aid; the other got a neck wound, he died instantly.
The New York Times recognized Renaud as “a talented photographer and filmmaker”, who last contributed to the paper in 2015.
Deputy managing editor Cliff Levy informed his social media account on Twitter that he was not on assignment for any of the desks at The Times in Ukraine.
