Tributes pour in for ‘legend’ Fox cameraman killed in Ukraine attack that injured correspondent Benjamin Hall

Tributes have poured in for a Fox News cameraman who was killed while covering the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

The network announced the death of 55-year-old veteran journalist Pierre Zakrzewski on Tuesday, one day after the vehicle he was traveling with Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall and freelancer Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova was fired upon by Russian forces. Ms Kuvshynova, 24, was killed and Mr Hall was injured and hospitalised.

In the wake of the news, dozens of Mr Zakrzewski’s colleagues have shared their heartbreak at the loss.

Making the announcement live on air, Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer called Mr Zakrzewski “an absolute legend”.

“He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend,” Mr Hemmer said. “We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family. Pierre Zakrzewski was only 55 years old, and we miss him already.”

Fellow anchor John Roberts tweeted: “I worked with Pierre many times around the world. He was an absolute treasure. Sending our most heartfelt prayers to Pierre‘s wife and family.”

“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,” Fox correspondent Trey Yingst tweeted.

Many outside of Fox also paid tribute, including CNN’s international correspondent Scott McLean, who described meeting Mr Zakrzewski in Kyiv two years ago.

“He was extremely popular in the industry,” Mr McLean said. “Everybody seemed to know him.

"I don’t usually drink a lot when I’m on the road because we’re busy, but... we were three sheets to the wind because he was just a lovely guy to hang out with."

Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott echoed colleagues’ remarks in a statement announcing Mr Zakrzewski’s death.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news this morning regarding our beloved cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski. Pierre was killed in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Pierre was with Benjamin Hall newsgathering when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire,” the statement read.

“Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for FOX News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us. His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched. Based in London, Pierre had been working in Ukraine since February. His talents were fast 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.

“He was profoundly committed to telling the store 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.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife Michelle and family - please keep them all in your prayers. And please continue to pray for Benjamin Hall, who remains hospitalized in Ukraine. We will continue to be in touch with any further updates as needed.”

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Ms Scott had announced the hospitalisation of Mr Hall - a British-American journalist serving as the network’s State Department correspondent who has previously written for The Independent- in a memo to colleagues on Monday afternoon which did not reveal what had happened, the extent of his injuries or that Mr Zakrzewski was also injured in the same attack.

“Earlier today, our correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured while news gathering outside of Kyiv in Ukraine,” the Monday memo read. “We have a minimal level of details right now. Ben is hospitalised and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds.

“The safety of our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and of the utmost importance. This is a stark reminder for all journalists who are putting their lives on the line every day to deliver the news from the war zone. We will update everyone as we know more. Please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.”

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On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said Mr Hall had lost part of his leg and confirmed that Ukrainian journalist Ms Kurshynova had also been killed.

Fox News addressed Ms Kurshynova’s death in another statement hours after the one about Mr Zakrzewksi.

Ms Scott said they held off on reporting the death of Ms Kuvshynova earlier “out of respect for her family whom we have been in touch with throughout and we extend our deepest condolences to them”.

“In our efforts to keep you updated on yesterday’s tragic events, we want to report that journalist Oleksandra ‘Sasha’ Kuvshynova was also killed alongside our cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire yesterday while in the field with Benjamin Hall,” she wrote.

“Sasha was just 24 years old and was working as a consultant for us in Ukraine. She was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources.

“She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock.”

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The attack on the Fox News crew came just a day after American journalist Brett Renaud was shot and killed by Russian forces in Irpin while on an assignment for TIME magazine.

Mr Renaud was in a car on route to report on Ukrainian refugees trying to evacuate when the vehicle was ambushed by Vladimir Putin’s troops, according to Ukrainian officials. A second American journalist was also wounded and taken to hospital.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Joe Biden was thinking of Mr Hall on Monday when asked about the situation and the president’s previous pledge to “respond forcefully” if any Americans were harmed in Ukraine.

“Well, let me first say, your colleague, Benjamin Hall, I know there’s not final reports yet or we would wait for your news organization to confirm those but our thoughts, the president’s thoughts, our administration’s thoughts are with him, his family and all of you at Fox News as well,” she said in Monday’s press briefing.

She added that Mr Biden has been “leading the world” in putting “consequences” and “repercussions” in place in the form of crippling economic sanctions.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price also addressed Mr Hall at his daily press briefing on Tuesday, saying the Biden administration would do “everything possible” to help the injured journalist.

As the Fox News community mourns the deaths of Mr Zakrzewski and Ms Kuvshynova and prays for Mr Hall’s recovery, some of the networks own hosts have come under fire for promotive misleading narratives about the Russia-Ukraine conflict that increasingly flatter the Kremlin’s version of events.

The most controversial host is Tucker Carlson, whose show is reliably among the most-watched pundit on cable news. Having often questioned before the conflict why anyone in the US should root for Ukraine (a well-established American ally) against Russia (an authoritarian adversary), he has lately helped introduce a conspiracy theory about US-funded and operated biolabs in Ukraine that have supposedly been developing bioweapons.

On Monday, Fox and Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy further scrambled her network’s mixed messages about the conflict by raising the argument that the conflict is in fact the west’s fault.

The host asserted that the US “provoked” Russia by allowing the prospect of Ukraine becoming a member of Nato.

“They made very clear that there was a red line,” she said. “The red line was a neutrality for Ukraine, that they could not enter Nato.” (Ukraine is still not a Nato member.) “And in the end, if they get this peace agreement … that’s probably going to end up being the case anyway.”

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