“Journalist Frederick Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war. On board a humanitarian bus, along with civilians forced to flee Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“I share the grief of Frederick Leclerc-Imhoff’s family, friends and colleagues, to whom I extend my condolences. To those who are carrying out the difficult mission of providing information in theaters of operations, I would like to reaffirm France’s unconditional support, “Macron added.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she had spoken to the governor of Luhansk and asked Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to investigate.
“This is a double crime targeting a humanitarian convoy and a journalist,” she said.
Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, worked for BFM TV, a subsidiary of CNN, which issued a statement saying his employees were “deeply saddened” by his death, adding that he had been killed on the way to Lisichansk in Severodonetsk. area in Ukraine.
“He was the victim of shrapnel while watching a humanitarian operation in an armored car this Monday. He was accompanied by his colleague Maxim Brandstadter, who was slightly injured in the crash, and their” fixator “Oksana Leuta, who was not hit.” the message says.
Leclerc-Imhoff has worked for BFM TV for six years, the broadcaster said, and has been on his second trip to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
“Altice Media Group and BFMTV share the grief of family and friends,” the statement said. “This tragic event reminds us of the dangers facing all journalists who risk their lives to report on this conflict for more than three months.”
This is not the first time a journalist has been killed covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In early March, Ukrainian cameraman Yevgeny Sakun was reportedly killed in a shelling of Kyiv’s TV tower.
Then, on March 13, American journalist Brent Reno was killed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Irpin, according to police in Kyiv. Another American journalist, Juan Aredondo, was injured.
The next day, Fox News reporters Pierre Zakrzewski, a 55-year-old military photojournalist, and Alexandra “Sasha” Kuvshinova, a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist working as a web consultant, were killed near Kyiv.
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured in the attack.
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