A French journalist has been shot and killed in Ukraine, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war. On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape the Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted Monday.
“I share the grief of the family, friends and colleagues of Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of providing information in theaters of operation, I want to reiterate France’s unconditional support,” Macron added.
France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she had spoken with the governor of Luhansk and asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate.
“This is a double crime, targeting a humanitarian convoy and a journalist,” she said.
Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, worked for CNN affiliate BFM TV, which released a statement saying its staff was “deeply saddened” by his death, adding that he was killed on the road to Lyssychansk in the Severodonetsk region of Ukraine.
“He was victim of a shrapnel, while he was following a humanitarian operation in an armored vehicle, this Monday. He was accompanied by his colleague Maxime Brandstaetter, who was slightly wounded in this strike, and their “fixer” Oksana Leuta, who was not hit,” reads the statement.
Leclerc-Imhoff had worked for BFM TV for six years, said the broadcaster, and was on his second trip to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.