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One American journalist was killed, and a second was injured, on Sunday by Russian gunfire.
Brent Renaud, an American photojournalist, was killed on Sunday when Russian troops opened fire on a car in Irpin, a town about 30 miles outside of Kyiv. Forty-six year old Juan Arrendo, also an American journalist, was rushed to the hospital with shrapnel wounds from the same incident.
Mr. Arrendo told Annalisa Camillim, an Italian journalist, that the two of them were filming refugees fleeing the area. As their car stopped at a checkpoint, the Russians began shooting, and Mr. Renaud was shot in the neck.
“Of course, the profession of journalism carries risks. Nonetheless, U.S. citizen Brent Renaud paid with his life trying to highlight the deceit, cruelty and ruthlessness of the aggressor,” said officials in a statement obtained by USA Today.
Mr. Arrendo was fifty years old and frequently collaborated with his brother Craig on film and television projects. Brent and Craig Arrendo covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the earthquake in Haiti, political turmoil in Egypt and Libya, extremism in Africa, cartel violence in Mexico and the youth refugee crisis in Central America.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces have made gains in their attempt to seize the port city of Mariupol.
“Conditions in the city are dire, with civilians trapped there with limited food, water and electricity,” reported CNBC. The AP reported on Sunday that more than 1,500 have died in the attacks on Mariupol. Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of preventing the evacuation of residents.
The Ukraine invasion is now in its third week and is facing economic consequences and sanctions from the U.S. and other countries.
“In terms of servicing debt obligations, I can say that we no longer think of Russian default as [an] improbable event. Russia has the money to service its debt, but cannot access it,” Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said on “Face the Nation.” Ms. Georgieva is saying that a Russian sovereign default is a possibility.
On Sunday morning, Kyiv awoke to air raid sirens as Russian missiles were launched at a military base near the Polish border killing at least 35 people, reported NBC News.
NBC News said that they have not verified the missile strikes. The base is about 20 miles from the Polish border and information on victims was not immediately available. Since 2015, the U.S. has regularly sent instructors to the base. The base has also hosted NATO drills.
An additional 135 people were injured in an airstrike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security in Yavoriv, said Maksym Kozytskiy, head of Lviv regional administration. More than 30 missiles were fired, killing nine people.
President Joe Biden has authorized the State Department to provide an additional $200 million in military assistance to Ukraine. According to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, this brings the total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $1.2 billion.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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