Pierre Zakrzewski, a cameraman for Fox News, was killed while working in Ukraine, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott announced to employees in a memo on Tuesday morning.
Zakrzewski was traveling in a car on Monday with Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire. The network said on Monday that Hall, a State Department correspondent, has been hospitalized with his injuries, but no further update has been given on his condition.
The two were hit while traveling in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Scott said. Zakrzewski, who was based in London, had been working in Ukraine since February.
Scott described Zakrzewski as a network veteran “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. 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 ad 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.”
Jay Wallace, the president of the Fox News Channel, said that “the legacy of his positive spirit, boundless energy and eye for the story will carry on.”
Zakrzewski’s death comes during a particularly violent and dangerous phase for journalists covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, an American documentary filmmaker, Brent Renaud, was fatally shot while reporting outside Kyiv on Sunday.
Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer announced Zakrzewski’s death on the network’s air on Tuesday. “Pierre Zakrzewski was an absolute legend at this network, and his loss is devastating,” Hemmer said.
