Cameraman shot alongside Fox News reporter in Ukraine dies
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski died on Tuesday, a day after the vehicle he was traveling in with correspondent Benjamin Hall was “struck by incoming fire” near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev a day earlier, Fox CEO Suzanne Scott said. Hall is reportedly in intensive care.
“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news this morning regarding our beloved cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski,” read a statement from Scott to Fox employees. “Pierre was with Benjamin Hall yesterday newsgathering when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire.”
The incident happened in the village of Gorenka, on the northwestern outskirts of Kiev. The village is situated on the front line of conflict between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and it is unclear from which side the two reporters were hit.
A Fox News memo on Monday said that the network had “a minimal level of details” about the incident, and was attempting to find out more. According to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova, who did not directly blame Russian forces for the incident, Hall was in intensive care as of Monday evening. Venediktova’s statement made no mention of Zakrzewski.
Zakrzewski was a veteran war photographer, and had been in Ukraine since February. He had previously worked in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and, according to Scott, played a key role in helping Afghan freelance associates and their families leave the country during the chaotic US withdrawal last August.
His death comes two days after American filmmaker and former New York Times correspondent Brent Renaud was fatally shot in Irpen, on the outskirts of Kiev. The details of Renaud’s death are murky, with Ukrainian officials blaming Russian soldiers for the shooting, despite the fact that the incident took place in the vicinity of a road checkpoint manned by Ukrainian troops.
A companion of Renaud’s, Colombian-American photographer Juan Arredondo, was wounded in the shooting, and last spoke to the press from a hospital bed in Kiev on Sunday evening.
Russian troops have seized positions on multiple approaches to Kiev, and vicious fighting has been reported on the city’s outskirts in places like Irpen, Gorenka, and Brovary. Inside the capital, the Ukrainian government has handed out weapons to civilian militias in anticipation of urban combat.
