A Fox News camera operator and a local producer covering the war in Ukraine have died after the vehicle they were traveling in was struck by incoming fire, the network announced Tuesday.
The death of camera operator Pierre Zakrzewski was announced in a memo to employees by Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, who shared it with BuzzFeed News. Scott said 55-year-old Zakrzewski died in a fire in the village of Horenka, northwest of Kyiv, on Monday.
Scott later confirmed that Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshinova was also killed in the same incident. The 24-year-old worked as a producer for Fox, assisting the network’s staff.
Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall was also injured in the attack and hospitalized in Ukraine.
“Pierre Zakrzewski was an absolute legend on this network and his loss is devastating,” anchor Bill Hemmer told Fox News viewers Tuesday morning.
London-born Zakrzewski, who is Irish and has been in Ukraine since February, has previously covered multiple wars for Fox, including conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. In December, Fox News presented him with an “Unsung Hero” award to recognize his work.
“[Zakrzewski’s] The talents were enormous and there was no role he didn’t go to to help in the field — from photographer to engineer, editor to producer — and he did it all with tremendous skill under tremendous pressure,” Scott wrote in her. “He was deeply committed to telling the story, and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic are renowned among journalists at every media outlet. “
Kuvshinova, the producer, spent weeks working with Fox in her home country. In a subsequent memo to employees, Scott said the network had withheld announcing his death out of respect for his family.
“Several of our reporters and producers spent long days with her covering the news and got to know her personally, describing her as hard-working, funny, kind and courageous,” Scott wrote.
