Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a letter of condolences to the family of journalist Brent Renaud who was killed in Ukraine on Sunday (March 13), according to TMZ.

“A talented and brave journalist, Brent lost his life while documenting human tragedy, devastation and suffering of millions of Ukrainians,” he wrote. “With all his courage and determination, he traveled to the most dangerous war zones to film the unprecedented ruthlessness and evil, also inflicted upon our nation by the aggressor state.”

He added, “The people of Ukraine, who are fighting against the Russian regime to defend their Homeland and democracy in the world, are mourning with you.”

“May Brent’s life, service and sacrifice inspire generations of people all around the world to stand up in fight for the forces of light against the forces of darkness,” Zelenskyy wrote at the end as he thanked the filmmaker’s contributions.

The 50-year-old American journalist and filmmaker had worked on occasion with The New York Times. He was not on assignment at the time of his death but still chose to film eye-catching moments such as refugees leaving Irpin at a checkpoint barrier. He and journalist Juan Arredondo were both wounded. However, Renaud succumbed to his injuries after a fatal shot to the neck.

Police in Kyiv posted a photo of his body and his American passport as evidence, as well as a photo of an outdated New York Times press badge with Renaud’s name. In a Facebook post, head of Kyiv region police, Andriy Nebitov, said that Russian forces shot the filmmaker, adding that “the occupants cynically kill even journalists of international media, who’ve been trying to tell the truth about atrocities of Russian military in Ukraine.”

Nebitov continued, “Of course, journalism carries risks, but the US citizen Brent Renaud paid with his life for an attempt to shed light on how underhand, cruel, and merciless the aggressor is,” CNN reports.