French journalist killed in Ukraine on civilian evacuation bus

French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, who was covering the war in Ukraine for BFM TV, was killed on Monday while documenting the evacuation of the besieged city of Sievierodonetsk, in the eastern Luhansk province. Leclerc-Imhoff's death was confirmed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said the journalist was killed on board a humanitarian bus intended for civilians fleeing the extreme violence and ceaseless shelling.

Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, also confirmed Leclerc-Imhoff's death on Telegram: "Today our armored evacuation vehicle was going to collect 10 people from the area and ended up under enemy fire," he said. "Shrapnel from the grenades pierced the armor of the car, a fatal wound in the neck was received by an accredited French journalist who was making a report on the evacuation, a policeman on patrol was saved by a helmet."

Attempts to evacuate Sievierodonetsk have been suspended, The Guardian reports. It is thought that some 13,000 civilians remain in the city as Russia advances on its center.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

More than 23 journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, Voice of America — which last updated its tally in early May — reports. Among the dead are American documentarian Brent Renaud; Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian fixer for Fox News; and Andrea Rocchelli, an Italian photojournalist who was killed along with his interpreter, Russian human rights activist Andrei Mironov.