US journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud shot dead in Ukraine

A US journalist and filmmaker was killed on Sunday outside Kyiv, according to regional police and a government official. According to Al Jazeera, the news of Brent Renaud's death was confirmed by in a statement issued by the Kyiv police force and by an advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister.

A journalist who had been with Renaud at the time said Renaud had been shot in the neck. He said they had been "filming refugees fleeing the area when they were shot at while in a car approaching a checkpoint. The driver turned around but the firing at them continued", Al Jazeera reported.

A journalist who had been in the area tweeted on Sunday that Renaud's body "lay under a blanket" near Irpin.

Renaud had been working in the region on a project for Time magazine. In a statement, Time said it was "devastated by the loss".

"In recent weeks, Brent was in the region working on a TIME Studios project focused on the global refugee crisis," the statement said. "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."

Initial reports had stated Renaud was in the area for on assignment for the New York Times. The newspaper later issued a clarification.