Tributes pour in for Brent Renaud, U.S. journalist killed in Ukraine

Tributes continue to pour in for Brent Renaud, a U.S. journalist and filmmaker who Ukrainian police said was killed by an attack in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on Sunday.

Renaud, 50, was working on a video project on refugees for Time magazine with another American journalist, Juan Arredondo, when Arredondo said the car they were traveling in came under fire from Russian forces. Arredondo, a filmmaker who is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School, was wounded but survived.

While being treated at a hospital, Arredondo said Renaud had been shot in the neck and the two became separated.

“He’s been shot and left behind,” Arredondo said, unaware of Renaud’s death.

According to the United Nations, at least 636 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Feb. 24, when Russia's military invasion began.

"We are devastated by the loss of Brent Renaud," Time magazine said in a statement. "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."

Christof Putzel, a friend and colleague of Renaud's, told CNN he was still trying to process the death of "the best war journalist I think ever existed."

"Brent had this ability to go anywhere, get any story, listen and communicate what was happening to people that others wouldn't otherwise see it," Putzel said. "And it is a devastating loss to journalism today."

Ann Marie Lipinski, the director of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, mourned the death of Renaud, who was a 2019 Harvard Nieman Fellow.

"Our Nieman Fellow Brent Renaud was gifted and kind, and his work was infused with humanity," Lipinski tweeted. "We are heartsick."

Matthew Teague, another 2019 Nieman Fellow, recalled Renaud's humility.

"Brent’s work excelled. But his friendship was better: He was humble, kind, gentle," Teague tweeted. "He, almost frustratingly, always wanted to hear about others rather than talk about himself."

“So this is me trying to remedy that, in a small way,” Teague added. “I want people to know the world lost a superb human being today. Among the best we have.”

[Zelensky mourns death of Brent Renaud, U.S. journalist killed in Ukraine]

Police in Kyiv announced Renaud's death Sunday in a Facebook post that included the photo of an outdated New York Times press badge he was wearing when he was killed. Renaud was a former New York Times contributor whose work had most recently been featured by the newspaper in 2015.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death," a Times spokesperson told Yahoo News.

Renaud’s family could not be immediately reached for comment. He and his brother, Craig, have received widespread recognition for their films, including the prestigious Peabody Award.

Appearing on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Sunday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he was still seeking to confirm the report of Renaud's death. If confirmed, Sullivan said, it would be yet another example of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "brutality."

"If in fact an American journalist was killed, it is a shocking and horrifying event," Sullivan said. "It is one more example of the brutality of Vladimir Putin and his forces as they've targeted schools and mosques and hospitals and journalists. And it is why we are working so hard to impose severe consequences on him and to try to help the Ukrainians with every form of military assistance we can muster."

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack that killed Renaud.

"This kind of attack is totally unacceptable and is a violation of international law," the organization said in a statement. "Russian forces in Ukraine must stop all violence against journalists and other civilians at once, and whoever killed Renaud should be held to account."