French journalist killed by shrapnel in eastern Ukraine
Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a 32-year-old French journalist, was killed in the Ukrainian Donbas region while covering an evacuation operation.
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| IMG Source: AFP Photo/ BFM TV |
BFM TV, the French broadcaster Leclerc-Imhoff worked for, said he was hit by shrapnel as he was traveling in an evacuation bus near the contested town of Sievierodonetsk. His French colleague and their local producer survived the attack.
French President Emmanuelle Macron expressed his condolences to Leclerc-Imhoff's family and colleagues.
On Twitter he posted that the journalist was in Ukraine to show the reality of war. "Onboard a humanitarian bus with civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombings, he was mortally wounded," Macron wrote.
The French foreign minister Catherine Colonna demanded an investigation into what she called the 'double crime' of targeting a humanitarian convoy and a journalist. She also asked Ukrainian authorities to return Leclerc's body as soon as possible.
The press freedom organization 'Reporters Without Borders' condemned the attack, which it said was 'very likely' carried out by Russian forces.
Secretary general Christophe Deloire said: "From the beginning of the war, including this young French journalist, eight journalists were killed in Ukraine. The vast majority was deliberately targeted always by Russian forces, which clearly violates the international law on the protection of journalists, on the protection of civilians."