Two Fox News journalists – producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova and cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski – were killed in the attack outside Kyiv which injured correspondent Benjamin Hall, the US network and its journalists confirmed on Tuesday.
Fox News in a statement only announced the death of Zakrzewski, an Irish citizen. Ukrainian officials and Fox News reporters confirmed that Kuvshynova was also killed in the attack.
“RIP Pierre and Sasha,” the Fox News Pentagon correspondent, Lucas Tomlinson, wrote on Twitter, using a diminutive name for the producer, and sharing a recent picture of the two, smiling with Hall.
Zakrzewski, 55, and Kuvshynova, 24, died “as a result of artillery shelling by Russian troops in the north-eastern part of the village of Gorenka”, Ukrainian website kp.ua said.
The news follows the death in Ukraine on Sunday of Brent Renaud, an American film-maker, who was shot in an area near where the Fox journalists were attacked.
Fox News had announced Hall’s injury on Monday, the reporter “was injured while newsgathering outside of Kyiv in Ukraine”.
Fox News’ chief executive, Suzanne Scott, said: “Pierre was killed in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Pierre was with Benjamin Hall yesterday … when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire.
“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.”
Fox News did not initially mention Kuvshynova’s death, but in a second statement later on Tuesday, said she had been working as a consultant for the channel.
It read: “She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country.”
The statement described Kuvshynova as “hard-working, funny, kind and brave. Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories, and she fulfilled that through her journalism.”
The statement added: “We held off on delivering this devastating news earlier today out of respect for her family whom we have been in touch with throughout.”
Yonat Friling, a Fox News field producer, tweeted: “In yesterday’s attack near Kyiv, we have lost a beautiful brave woman – Oleksandra Kuvshinova – Sasha. She loved music and she was funny and kind. she was 24 years old. She worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job. May her memory be a blessing.”
Trey Yingst, a Fox News foreign correspondent, tweeted a picture with Zakrzewski and said: “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.”
Hall, who is British-American, remained in hospital on Tuesday. Ukrainian authorities said he had “lost part of his leg”. Fox News said it was still trying to gather details of the attack on its team.
“We have a minimal level of details right now,” Scott said in a memo to staff on Monday that did not mention Zakrzewski or Kuvshynova. “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.”
On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said Renaud, an award-winning film-maker, was killed by Russian forces in Irpin, outside Kyiv. An American photographer, Juan Arredondo, was wounded.
