At least six journalists — Ukrainian and foreign correspondents — have been killed while working to document Russia’s war on Ukraine, now in its second month. Their deaths highlight the risks journalists face as they seek to inform people around the world from the hard-hit conflict zone.
Here are their stories.
An American filmmaker working for Time magazine, 50-year-old Brent Renaud, was killed March 13 when Russian troops opened fire on a vehicle in which he was traveling outside Kyiv. Edward Felsenthal, Time’s editor in chief and CEO, said Sunday that the journalist was working on a Time Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis.
“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,” Felsenthal said in a statement at the time. Renaud worked with his brother, Craig Renaud, on award-winning video journalism and documentary filmmaking projects, according to their website, for HBO, Vice and other international news organizations. Renaud previously worked on assignments for the New York Times.
A producer for Fox News, 24-year-old Ukrainian Oleksandra Kuvshynova, also known as “Sasha,” was killed March 14 when gunfire hit a vehicle in which she was traveling with colleagues. Kuvshynova was working as a consultant for Fox News, helping teams navigate the area, gather news and speak with sources, the network said. Colleagues remembered her as “beautiful” and “brave.”
“The truth is the target,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said of the attack that struck the Fox News team.
In yesterday’s attack near Kyiv, we have lost a beautiful brave woman – Oleksandra Kuvshinova – Sasha. She loved music and she was funny and kind. she was 24 years old. She worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job.
May her memory be a blessing pic.twitter.com/QGzqV3Fy5D— Yonat Friling (Frühling) (@Foxyonat) March 15, 2022
Pierre Zakrzewski was a cameraman for Fox News and was traveling alongside Kuvshynova in the town of Horenka when their vehicle came under fire. The attack claimed the life of the 55-year-old, an Irish citizen with a French mother, and seriously injured Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall, who survived the attack.
Zakrzewski was an experienced journalist who had covered conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Fox News said as it paid tribute to “an absolute legend.” He had been working in Ukraine since February but was based in London, The Washington Post reported.
Irish police said they are working with French anti-terrorism prosecutors to investigate Zakrzewski’s death and possible war crimes, according to the Irish Times.
Zakrzewski’s family said his body has been returned to Dublin, , the Irish Examiner reported. The family thanked “all those involved in getting Pierre home to us so quickly and in such difficult circumstances.”
RIP Pierre and Sasha. From our last correspondence:
I will effort to get as much of this on TV to help Ukrainians in every way possible. Keep Smiling.
Pierre pic.twitter.com/StinVdSfFK— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) March 15, 2022
Russian correspondent Oksana Baulina was killed while filming the destruction from Russian shelling of a district within Kyiv on Wednesday, March 23, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs said.Baulina had been covering the war for the Insider, an investigative Russian news site, which reported her death.
Anton Herashchenko, the government adviser, said Russian mortars that appeared to have been fired from the northwestern suburbs of the capital killed Baulina. He said Ukrainian authorities do not believe she was targeted purposefully but condemned Russian forces’ attacks on civilian areas. Herashchenko described Baulina as an “anti-Putin journalist” and called her death a “tragedy.”
“She just wanted as a journalist to document [the destruction] for her audience, for her readers,” he said.
Baulina previously worked at the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was founded by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was recently sentenced to nine more years in prison by a Russian court.
Other journalists paid tribute to Baulina. One called her a talented reporter with a “phenomenal sense of moral clarity.”
And now it’s someone I’ve known for 16 years and worked with at several independent outlets. Oksana Baulina, a Russian journalist with phenomenal sense of moral clarity, killed by Russian rocket fire on a reporting mission in Kyiv today. I’m yet to process this. pic.twitter.com/eUPuMoUw54
— Alexey Kovalyov (@Alexey__Kovalev) March 23, 2022
Ukrainian photojournalist Maksym Levin, whom colleagues called Max, was found dead on the northern outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, after friends lost contact with him, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said April 2. It said an investigation was underway.
Reporters Without Borders said Levin — who had worked for organizations including Reuters, the Associated Press, the BBC and Ukrainian outlet Hromadske — disappeared in March around Vyshhorod, near Kyiv, while reporting in the combat zone. “He was unarmed and wearing a press jacket,” the media advocacy group said.
He was unarmed and wearing a press jacket. Photographer 🇺🇦 Max Levin was killed like five other journalists since the start of the war in #Ukraine. RSF sends its condolences to his family. Targeting journalists is a war crime. https://t.co/Wq17toKK7X
— RSF (@RSF_inter) April 2, 2022
Ukrainian online media outlet LB.ua, where he had also worked, said the 40-year-old Levin is survived by four young sons, as well as his wife and parents, and had dreamed of being a photographer since age 15. It added that Levin, who had covered the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, once said, “Every Ukrainian photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war.”
The Washington Post could not immediately verify the circumstances of his death independently. The prosecutor general’s office accused Russian forces of firing the shots that killed Levin but did not provide further details. Hromadske said intense fighting had erupted in the district where he was going to report.
David L. Stern and Claire Parker contributed to this report.
At least six journalists — Ukrainian and foreign correspondents — have been killed while working to document Russia’s war on Ukraine, now in its second month. Their deaths highlight the risks journalists face as they seek to inform people around the world from the hard-hit conflict zone.Here are their stories.Return to menuThe International and European Federations of Journalists condemned the attack, which also killed four other people, calling it a war crime. The Committee to Protect Journalists described it as “reckless” and called on Russia to “stop targeting media facilities and equipment.”Return to menuAn American filmmaker working for Time magazine, 50-year-old Brent Renaud, was killed March 13 when Russian troops opened fire on a vehicle in which he was traveling outside Kyiv. Edward Felsenthal, Time’s editor in chief and CEO, said Sunday that the journalist was working on a Time Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis.“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,” Felsenthal said in a statement at the time. Renaud worked with his brother, Craig Renaud, on award-winning video journalism and documentary filmmaking projects, according to their website, for HBO, Vice and other international news organizations. Renaud previously worked on assignments for the New York Times.Return to menuA producer for Fox News, 24-year-old Ukrainian Oleksandra Kuvshynova, also known as “Sasha,” was killed March 14 when gunfire hit a vehicle in which she was traveling with colleagues. Kuvshynova was working as a consultant for Fox News, helping teams navigate the area, gather news and speak with sources, the network said. Colleagues remembered her as “beautiful” and “brave.”Story continues below advertisement“The truth is the target,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said of the attack that struck the Fox News team.In yesterday’s attack near Kyiv, we have lost a beautiful brave woman – Oleksandra Kuvshinova – Sasha. She loved music and she was funny and kind. she was 24 years old. She worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job. May her memory be a blessing pic.twitter.com/QGzqV3Fy5D— Yonat Friling (Frühling) (@Foxyonat) March 15, 2022 Return to menuPierre Zakrzewski was a cameraman for Fox News and was traveling alongside Kuvshynova in the town of Horenka when their vehicle came under fire. The attack claimed the life of the 55-year-old, an Irish citizen with a French mother, and seriously injured Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall, who survived the attack.Zakrzewski was an experienced journalist who had covered conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Fox News said as it paid tribute to “an absolute legend.” He had been working in Ukraine since February but was based in London, The Washington Post reported.Irish police said they are working with French anti-terrorism prosecutors to investigate Zakrzewski’s death and possible war crimes, according to the Irish Times.Story continues below advertisementZakrzewski’s family said his body has been returned to Dublin, , the Irish Examiner reported. The family thanked “all those involved in getting Pierre home to us so quickly and in such difficult circumstances.”RIP Pierre and Sasha. From our last correspondence:I will effort to get as much of this on TV to help Ukrainians in every way possible. Keep Smiling.Pierre pic.twitter.com/StinVdSfFK— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) March 15, 2022 Return to menuRussian correspondent Oksana Baulina was killed while filming the destruction from Russian shelling of a district within Kyiv on Wednesday, March 23, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs said.Baulina had been covering the war for the Insider, an investigative Russian news site, which reported her death.Anton Herashchenko, the government adviser, said Russian mortars that appeared to have been fired from the northwestern suburbs of the capital killed Baulina. He said Ukrainian authorities do not believe she was targeted purposefully but condemned Russian forces’ attacks on civilian areas. Herashchenko described Baulina as an “anti-Putin journalist” and called her death a “tragedy.”Story continues below advertisement“She just wanted as a journalist to document [the destruction] for her audience, for her readers,” he said.Baulina previously worked at the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was founded by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was recently sentenced to nine more years in prison by a Russian court.Other journalists paid tribute to Baulina. One called her a talented reporter with a “phenomenal sense of moral clarity.”And now it’s someone I’ve known for 16 years and worked with at several independent outlets. Oksana Baulina, a Russian journalist with phenomenal sense of moral clarity, killed by Russian rocket fire on a reporting mission in Kyiv today. I’m yet to process this. pic.twitter.com/eUPuMoUw54— Alexey Kovalyov (@Alexey__Kovalev) March 23, 2022 Return to menuUkrainian photojournalist Maksym Levin, whom colleagues called Max, was found dead on the northern outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, after friends lost contact with him, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said April 2. It said an investigation was underway.Story continues below advertisementReporters Without Borders said Levin — who had worked for organizations including Reuters, the Associated Press, the BBC and Ukrainian outlet Hromadske — disappeared in March around Vyshhorod, near Kyiv, while reporting in the combat zone. “He was unarmed and wearing a press jacket,” the media advocacy group said.He was unarmed and wearing a press jacket. Photographer 🇺🇦 Max Levin was killed like five other journalists since the start of the war in #Ukraine. RSF sends its condolences to his family. Targeting journalists is a war crime. https://t.co/Wq17toKK7X— RSF (@RSF_inter) April 2, 2022 Ukrainian online media outlet LB.ua, where he had also worked, said the 40-year-old Levin is survived by four young sons, as well as his wife and parents, and had dreamed of being a photographer since age 15. It added that Levin, who had covered the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, once said, “Every Ukrainian photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war.”The Washington Post could not immediately verify the circumstances of his death independently. The prosecutor general’s office accused Russian forces of firing the shots that killed Levin but did not provide further details. Hromadske said intense fighting had erupted in the district where he was going to report.David L. Stern and Claire Parker contributed to this report.