Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a 32-year old French journalist, was killed on Monday, while covering the war in Ukraine for the French news channel BFMTV. His death was confirmed by French President Emmanuel Macron on his Twitter account and reported by many news outlets.
Leclerc-Imhoff is one of the many journalists who have been wounded or killed in Ukraine since the country was invaded by Russia on Feb. 24.
BFMTV said Leclerc-Imhoff was covering a humanitarian mission on board an armored vehicle in the region of Severodonetsk when he was hit by a piece of a shrapnel. He was accompanied with his colleague Maxime Brandstaetter, who was mildly wounded, and their coordinator Oksana Leuta, who did not suffer any injury, according to BFMTV, France’s leading news channel.
The French journalist’s death was announced earlier on Monday by the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, via a Telegram post “saying that Russian forces fired on an armored vehicle that was traveling to pick up people for evacuation,” according to Le Monde newspaper
“Shrapnel from the shells pierced the vehicle’s armor, fatally wounding an accredited French journalist in the neck who was reporting on the evacuation. The patrol officer was saved by his helmet,” Haidai wrote in his Telegram post.
Macron paid homage to Leclerc-Imhoff on Twitter, saying that the journalist “was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war.”
“On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron wrote. Along with sending his condolences to the victim’s family, relatives and colleagues, French president – who was just re-elected for a second term — said he wished to “reiterate France’s unconditional support” to “those who carry out the difficult mission of informing” on the front lines.
Journaliste, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff était en Ukraine pour montrer la réalité de la guerre. À bord d’un bus humanitaire, aux côtés de civils contraints de fuir pour échapper aux bombes russes, il a été mortellement touché.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 30, 2022
Je partage la peine de la famille, des proches et des confrères de Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, à qui j’adresse mes condoléances. À celles et ceux qui assurent sur les théâtres d’opérations la difficile mission d’informer, je veux redire le soutien inconditionnel de la France.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 30, 2022