Two journalists working for Fox News Channel were killed in Ukraine on Monday.
Pierre Zakrzewski, a camera operator for the Channel and veteran war zone journalist, was one of those killed, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott told employees Tuesday. He was 55 years old.
Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist who was working with the Fox News teams on the ground as a consultant, was also killed. She was 24 years old.
Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova were reporting in Horenka, outside of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, with correspondent Benjamin Hall when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire. Hall was injured in the attack, and according to Scott, remains hospitalized in Ukraine.
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“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,” Scott wrote in her memo. “Based in London, Pierre had been working in Ukraine since February. His talents were vast 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 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.”
“She was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources,” Scott said of Kuvshynova. “She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country.”
“Our team in Ukraine tells me that Sasha had a passion for music, the arts and photography and was a joy to work with,” she added of Kuvshynova. “Several of our correspondents and producers spent long days with her reporting the news and got to know her personally, describing her as hard-working, funny, kind and brave.”
Scott also added that Zakrzewski played a pivotal role in helping Afghans who had worked for Fox News escape the country after the U.S. left the country last summer.
“Last year he played a key role in getting our Afghan freelance associates and their families out of the country after the U.S. withdrawal,” Scott added. “In December at our annual employee Spotlight Awards, Pierre was given the ‘Unsung Hero’ award in recognition of his invaluable work.”
His death was also announced on Fox News by anchor Bill Hemmer, who said he “was an absolute legend at this network. And his loss is devastating.”
He was also lauded by foreign correspondents after his death was announced.
“There are no words. I had the great privilege of working with Pierre and the even greater privilege of calling him a friend,” CNN’s Clarissa Ward said. “An extraordinary spirit and tremendous talent and one of the kindest, most gracious colleagues on the road. Absolutely heartbreaking.”
“I don’t know what to say. Pierre was as good as they come,” Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst said. “Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“This is how I want to remember Pierre Zakrzewski,” said L.A. Times photojournalist Marcus Yam, sharing a photo of him. “Big smiles. Fantastic human being. Kind, generous & radiates an upbeat can-do energy. From Kabul to Kyiv, he never stopped wanting to help.”
Zakrzewski is the second journalist to be killed in Ukraine just this week. Over the weekend, documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud was killed in a suburb of Kyiv. Renaud had been working on a project for Time Studios at the time.
Updated 1 PM with news of Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova’s death.
