2 members of the Fox News team in Ukraine were killed in an attack
A veteran video journalist for Fox News, Pierre Zakrzewski, was killed outside Kyiv after the vehicle he was traveling in was struck by incoming fire on Monday, the network has announced.
Oleksandra Kuvshinova, also known as Sasha, who was working with the Fox News team, was also killed in the attack, senior field producer Yonat Friling said in a tweet. She was 24.
Zakrzewski had repeatedly covered conflict in the field for Fox News — including in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He was 55 years old.
In a memo to staff, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott hailed what she called Zakrzewski's unmatched talent and passion.
"His talents were vast and there wasn't a role that he didn't jump in to help with in the field — from photographer to engineer to editor to producer — and he did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill," she said.
Scott praised him for his work behind the scenes to help Fox's Afghan freelancers get safely out of Afghanistan after U.S. forces withdrew from that country.
Friling said that Kuvshinova "worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job." She added that "she loved music and she was funny and kind."
Micheál Martin, the prime minister of Ireland, said in a tweet that he was saddened by the two deaths.
"Deeply disturbed and saddened by the killing of Irish citizen and journalist Pierre Zakrzewski and one of his colleagues today," Martin said. "My thoughts are with their families, friends and fellow journalists. We condemn this indiscriminate and immoral war by Russia on #Ukraine."
The Fox News reporter accompanying them, correspondent Benjamin Hall, remains hospitalized in Ukraine. Hall's condition has not been disclosed.
On the air, Hall rejected claims by Fox host Greg Gutfeld that Western media outlets were exaggerating conditions in Ukraine to generate an emotional reaction against Russia's invasion. Hall called it "an absolute catastrophe."
On Sunday a U.S. journalist, documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud, was killed in fighting in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv. Juan Arredondo, a journalist who was with Renaud at the time, was wounded in the incident. [Copyright 2022 NPR]
