Two U.S. journalists have been hospitalized in Ukraine, and two have been killed, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Fox News.
On Tuesday morning, Fox News’s Bill Hemmer confirmed that cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in an attack outside of Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday, “when incoming fire hit their vehicle.” Hemmer described Zakrzewski as “an absolute legend” who put himself in harm’s way to cover stories in zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.
The same attack injured Fox News State Department Correspondent Benjamin Hall, a father of three young daughters, whose condition is unknown.
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott confirmed in a statement, “We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds.”
On Sunday, American journalist Brent Renaud was reported dead by Ukrainian police official Andrey Nebitov, who blamed Mr. Renaud’s death on Russian troops who fired at him. Renaud was an award-winning reporter who formerly worked for the New York Times, NBC, Vice, and other publications.
Renaud’s wounded friend, also a U.S. journalist, identified as Juan Arredondo, was filmed describing what happened in the hospital where he is being treated. “We crossed the first bridge in Irpin,” Arrendondo stated. “We [were] going to film other refugees leaving. And we got into a car – somebody offered to take us to the other bridge. And we crossed the checkpoint and they started shooting at us.”
In the video interview, Arredondo refers to Renaud, telling the interviewer, “My friend is Brent Renaud, and he’s been shot and left behind.” He also said that he witnessed Renaud get shot in the neck.
The chaos unfolding in Ukraine amidst a Russian invasion has been hard for many Americans to watch, especially in light of the current political climate.
Joe Biden has been seemingly absent as Eastern Europe begins to tear itself apart, prompting President Donald J. Trump to comment on the situation during a Save America rally in Florence, South Carolina, on Saturday. “The Fake News said my personality would get us into war, ‘He’s gonna get us into war!’ But no, my personality is what kept us out of war,” Trump said.
Many fear that the violence in Kyiv is just a preview of the chaos to come.
U.S. officials claimed on Sunday that Russia asked China for assistance in securing Ukrainian territories. However, on Monday the Kremlin denied this, according to a report from Reuters.
Unfortunately, the crisis in Eastern Europe continues to march onward. Many Americans are undoubtedly reminded that Russia never dared to move against any country aggressively under President Trump, and the world felt like a considerably safer place.
