Peter Dejong/AP
- The Verkhovna Rada said the US has been “touched” by the war against Russia following the death of an American journalist.
- Award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was shot and killed while covering the war in Ukraine.
- In a statement, the parliament again pleaded with Western nations to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, called for more assistance from Western countries in resisting the Russian invasion, citing the recent death of an American journalist.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was shot and killed in Irpin and his partner taken to a hospital while they were covering the war in Ukraine, a Kyiv police chief said Sunday. While Renaud had previously worked for The New York Times and was carrying a press pass from the outlet with him, he was not on assignment for the news organization at the time of his death, The Times said.
“Brent Renaud, a citizen of the United States, died. His colleague was injured. They showed the world all the meanness, cunning, and cruelty of the Russian occupiers,” a statement from Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Freedom of Speech said.
The committee said they “condemn aggression” and “sympathize with the families of the victims” while calling for more assistance from Western nations, particularly the United States.
“At the same time, we demand that the governments of the countries become more actively involved in helping Ukraine fight the global threat — Putinism,” the statement read. “We urge you to close the sky! We urge you to help with humanitarian corridors! Shell fragments and bullets do not select soldiers, children or journalists.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin initially said that his invasion of Ukraine would not target any civilians, but the offensive has since bombed multiple towns and cities, resulting in a massive refugee crisis and at least 1,663 Ukrainian civilian casualties as of Sunday.
“The war is ALREADY going on! And it is not only in Ukraine. It has ALREADY TOUCHED the countries of Europe and today the United States,” the statement from Verkhovna Rada concluded.
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly asked NATO to impose the “no-fly zone,” which would allow the alliance to police the Ukrainian airspace and deny Russia the ability to use its superior air power on civilians. The US has refused, and NATO has said that establishing a no-fly zone would escalate the Russian invasion, turning it into “a full-fledged war in Europe.”
On Saturday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense posted a jarring video on Twitter that depicted a military attack on the Eiffel Tower. The video, a direct plea for NATO to “close the sky over Ukraine,” showed Paris being bombed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also called for the US to send fighter jets, which the US has also declined to do.
The US and other NATO countries have sent thousands of weapons to Ukraine in recent weeks, and on Saturday, the White House announced the authorization of $200 million in military aid for Ukraine.
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