A Monday attack on a Fox News crew reporting near the Ukranian capital of Kyiv left two of the network’s journalists dead and its correspondent severely injured, the country’s Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
Killed in the attack were Pierre Zakrzewski, a longtime war photojournalist for Fox News, and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.
"The truth is the target," Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said Tuesday, commenting on the attack of journalists in the Fox News crew.
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Zakrzewski’s death was announced by Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott. Scott said in a memo to employees that he was killed when the vehicle the Fox News crew was travelling in came under fire.
Kuvshynova’s death was announced by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian interior minister. Gerashchenko blamed artillery shelling by Russian forces.
The deaths come as journalists working in Ukraine increasingly find themselves coming under fire. Brent Renaud, an award-winning American documentarian, was killed Sunday in an attack that also injured journalist Juan Arredondo. A Sky News team released footage earlier this month showing them being violently ambushed.
Scott on Tuesday remembered Zakrzewski as a journalist who was "profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet."
"He was wildly popular — everyone in the media industry who has covered a foreign story knew and respected Pierre," Scott said.
Scott described Zakrzewski’s talents as vast and said that "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. She said that he "did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill."
Zakrzewski was a veteran photojournalist who had "covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria," Scott said. He had been reporting from Ukraine since February.
Tributes immediately poured in from Zakrzewski’s colleagues at Fox News.
Anchor Bill Hemmer, who broke the tragic news on the channel’s air, described Zakrzewski as "an absolute legend" at the network.
Anchor John Roberts said he had worked with Zakrzewski "many times around the world" and described him as "an absolute treasure."
Foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, who is also reporting from Ukraine, wrote on Twitter, "I don’t know what to say. Pierre was as good as they come. Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you."
Zakrzewski’s counterparts at other networks also remembered him.
Clarissa Ward, CNN’s chief international correspondent, said she had "the great privilege" of having worked 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."
Fox News had just recognized Zakrzewski in December as one of the network’s "unsung heroes." He was described at the time as a journalist who "risks his life in war zones to get the story for Fox News."
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