An American journalist has reportedly been shot dead by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Brent Renaud, 51, was killed in the town of Irpin near Kyiv, while another journalist also injured in the shooting.

Andrey Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv region police, said the 51-year-old filmmaker “paid his life” for reporting on the invasion.

He said: “A 51-year-old world-renowned media correspondent was shot in Irpin today. Another journalist is injured. Now they are trying to remove the victim from the war zone.

“Of course, the profession of a journalist is a risk, but US citizen Brent Renaud paid his life for trying to highlight the aggressor’s ingenuity, cruelty and ruthlessness.”

In a statement, the New York Times said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of Brent Renaud’s death. Brent was a talented filmmaker who had contributed to the New York Times over the years.

“Though he had contributed to the Times in the past (most recently in 2015), he was not on assignment for any desk at the Times in Ukraine.

“Early reports circulated that he worked for the Times circulated because he was wearing a Times press badge that had been issued for an assignment many years ago.”

A tweet by Kyiv police appeared to show images of the award-winning journalist’s documentation including what looked to be a passport, press badge and allegedly a picture of him injured.

The tweet read: “URGENT! In Irpin, the Russian occupiers have just shot the international journalists of the New York Times! One killed, one wounded. Now militiamen try to take out the victim from a combat zone.”