A humanitarian aid lorry being used to evacuate refugees was hit by shelling on Monday, May 30 as it was travelling toward Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
The attack killed a French journalist on board who was covering the evacuation. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to the English aid worker who delivered the truck to Ukraine. He told us that the truck was hit despite being labelled as humanitarian aid.
Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a video journalist for French broadcaster BFMTV, was killed in eastern Ukraine on May 30 while covering an evacuation of civilians. At the time the lorry was hit, there were ten Ukrainian refugees and a local policeman inside, alongside Leclerc-Imhoff and his French and Ukrainian colleagues.
An artillery shell landed in front of the lorry, launching shrapnel through the vehicle’s windshield, the regional police chief told the New York Times.
The armoured lorry had arrived in Ukraine from England as part of a humanitarian aid initiative. Residents of Gloucester, England have come together as individuals to donate supplies directly to Ukrainian civilians.
Lysychansk, one of the last pockets of Ukrainian control in Luhansk, has sustained heavy Russian shelling since the offensive began in late February. Ukrainian authorities said the artillery shell had been fired by Russian forces.
France has called for an investigation into the journalist’s death. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, eight journalists have lost their lives, according to Reporters Without Borders.
