KYIV/PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) – A French journalist working for the BFM TV channel was killed in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine on Monday, Ukrainian and French authorities said.
BFM TV also confirmed the death in the morning of journalist Frdric Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, stating that he was covering the war in Ukraine on behalf of the television channel.
“Those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters, I want to reiterate France’s unconditional support”, declared the Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, on his Twitter account.
The French Foreign Minister, Christine Colonna, present on Monday in Ukraine, said in a press release that France was asking for a “transparent” investigation to shed light on this tragedy.
“The death of Frdric Leclerc-Imhoff, a BFM journalist killed today while covering a Ukrainian evacuation operation near Severodonetsk, is deeply shocking,” the minister said.
“I condemn her and offer our condolences to her family and colleagues,” she added.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, the convoy, in which the French journalist was traveling, was hit by shrapnel from Russian shells.
The regional governor of Luhansk for his part provided a photo of a press credential identifying the journalist. (Report Conor Humphries Kyiv and John Irish Paris, French version Kate Entringer and Matthieu Protard, told by Jean-Michel Blot)