Russian troops kill US journalist

Russian troops have killed a journalist working for the US daily The New York Times and wounded another reporter in a shooting incident in Irpen, a town west of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital's police said on their Facebook page.

The incident was also confirmed by the country's parliament on its Twitter account, which shows photos of the victim, apparently a cameraman.

The "invaders (Russians) cynically kill even journalists from international media who try to show the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine," said the head of police in the Kiev region, Andriy Nebitov,

"Today, a 51-year-old correspondent of the world-famous New York Times was shot dead in Irpen. Another journalist was wounded. They are currently trying to get the victim out of the combat zone," Nebitov wrote on Facebook.

Cliff Levy, one of the heads of the New York Times, tweeted his deep sadness "to learn of the death of an American journalist in Ukraine, Brent Renaud", who, he said, was "a talented photographer and filmmaker".

The New York Times said today that American journalist Brent Renaud, who was killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpen, west of Kiev, by Russian forces, was not working for them at the time of the incident.

"Although he had contributed for the Times in the past (most recently in 2015), he was not working with any of our Times departments in Ukraine," the paper explained in a brief statement.

The outlet stressed that the information that has circulated that the victim was an NYT journalist stems from the fact that he was carrying a "Times press ID that was issued to him for coverage many years ago".

The New York Times said it is "deeply saddened by the passing of Brent Renaud", who it described as a "talented filmmaker" who had worked with the outlet over the years.

Renaud's death was initially confirmed by the Kiev police, who blamed Russian forces for the incident and said he was a journalist for the prestigious New York daily.