Leclerc-Imhoff — the eighth journalist killed while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine — was remembered by his colleagues at French information outlet BFMTV for his enthusiasm, care and braveness. He was 32.
After the assault, evacuations had been known as off for the realm, one of many final industrial hubs beneath Ukrainian management within the jap province, Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk area, posted to Telegram on Monday. The truck was about to select up 10 civilians when it was struck and Leclerc-Imhoff was killed, he stated. A police officer within the truck was saved by his helmet, Haidai said, sharing graphic images of the scene. The bloodied truck was marked “HUMANITARIAN AID,” inches from the place the projectile appeared to puncture the thick glass.
BFMTV, the place Leclerc-Imhoff had labored for six years, stated in a statement that one other colleague touring with him, Maxime Brandstaetter, was “barely injured.” A fixer who was touring with them was not wounded.
This was Leclerc-Imhoff’s second mission to Ukraine for the reason that Feb. 24 begin of the Russian invasion, BFMTV stated.
“This tragic occasion reminds us of the hazards incurred by all journalists who’ve been reporting on this battle on the danger of their lives for greater than three months now,” the outlet stated in an announcement.
The station’s affiliation for its journalists stated it was accumulating messages to share together with his household.
“Frédéric was joyous, enthusiastic, caring, brave, and an exquisite journalist,” it stated in an announcement. “He died doing his work as a reporter, on the bottom, to indicate the fact of this battle.”
The strike got here the identical day French Overseas Minister Catherine Colonna visited Ukraine. She known as the journalist’s dying “deeply stunning,” and he or she stated she has demanded an investigation into the strike on a humanitarian convoy and reporter.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his condolences to Leclerc-Imhoff’s household and help for struggle correspondents.
Oleg Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Overseas Ministry, condemned the killing, saying it was the newest on an increasing “listing of Russian crimes in opposition to media staff in Ukraine.”
