On Tuesday, Fox News reported that two of its journalists had been killed and its correspondent critically injured in an attack on Monday near the Ukrainian city of Kyiv.
A veteran combat photographer named Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and a Ukrainian journalist named Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, 24, were both killed in the strike. Benjamin Hall, a reporter for Fox News, was critically hurt and is still in the hospital.
“The truth is the goal,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, reacting on the attack on journalists in the Fox News team.
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott confirmed both deaths by saying the reporting team’s van was shot at. Ukraine’s interior minister’s adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the Russian military was to fault for the shelling with artillery.
These fatalities occur at a time when threats and attacks against journalists in Ukraine have increased. In an attack on Sunday, award-winning American documentarian Brent Renaud was slain and journalist Juan Arredondo was injured. Earlier last month, footage of a Sky News crew being forcefully accosted was released.
Scott praised Zakrzewski’s “bravery, professionalism, and work ethic were famous among journalists at every media outlet” in his eulogy on Tuesday.
Scott remarked that Zakrzewski “didn’t jump in to help with any role on the field,” including those of photographer, engineer, editor, and producer. She praised his “tremendous expertise” and how he “did it all under incredible strain.”
Irish-born photojournalist Zakrzewski had covered numerous risky combat zones for Fox News. Since February, he’d been filing reports from Ukraine.
Scott stated that Kuvshynova assisted the network’s workers as they “navigated Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources.”
Scott said-
“She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country.”
During the day, messages of condolence and support for Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova continued to stream in. Fox News host Bret Baier lamented that two reporters “were lost on that battlefield,” calling them “great people.” This is a hard day,” he tweeted.
Bill Hemmer, who reported Zakrzewski’s murder live on Fox News, called the photojournalist “an incredible icon” at the station.
In addition, Trey Yingst, a foreign correspondent now reporting from Ukraine, tweeted his remembrance of Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova.
“I don’t know what to say,” he wrote about Zakrzewski. “Pierre was as good as they come. Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
She was talented, well-sourced, and humorous,” Yingst recalled of Kuvshynova. Photography, poetry, and music were all interests of hers. Over our mutual appreciation of coffee, we quickly bonded.
Zakrzewski was well-remembered by his contemporaries at competing networks.
To quote CNN’s top international correspondent, Clarissa Ward: “I had the enormous privilege of working with Zakrzewski and the even greater privilege of calling him a friend.”
“An extraordinary spirit and tremendous talent and one of the kindest, most gracious colleagues on the road,” Ward wrote on Twitter. “Absolutely heartbreaking.”
Zakrzewski had recently been named one of Fox News’ “unsung heroes” in December. According to reports at the time, he was a dangerous combat correspondent for Fox News.
