(The Hill) — Pierre Zakrzewski, a cameraman for Fox News, was killed this week while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the network announced on Tuesday.
Zakrzewski was killed during an attack that also injured correspondent Benjamin Hall.
Zakrzewski and Hall’s vehicle was struck outside Kyiv by incoming fire, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a memo to employees.
It is not clear who fired on the vehicle. Fox did not provide an update on Hall’s condition but said Monday he remains hospitalized.
Zakrzewski, 55, was an experienced journalist and cameraman and has covered nearly every international story for Fox including stints Afghanistan, Syria and other war-torn nations. He was based in London and had been working in Ukraine covering the Russian invasion since last month.
Scott said Zakrzewski’s “passion and talent as a journalist” were “unmatched.”
“Today is a heartbreaking day for Fox News Media and for all journalists risking their lives to deliver the news,” she said.
Jay Wallace, president of Fox News, praised Zakrzewski’s work, calling him “a constant in all of our international coverage.”
“I, like countless others, always felt an extra sense of reassurance when arriving on the scene and seeing him with a camera in hand,” Wallace said. “The legacy of his positive spirit, boundless energy and eye for the story will carry on.”
Journalists from across the media landscape began offering condolences for Zakrzewski and Fox News on social media on Tuesday morning.
“There are no words. I had the great privilege of working with Pierre and the even greater privilege of calling him a friend,” said longtime CNN international corresponded Clarissa Ward. “An extraordinary spirit and tremendous talent and one of the kindest, most gracious colleagues on the road. Absolutely heartbreaking.”
Fox News anchor and reporter John Roberts shared a photo of himself and other off-camera Fox News staffers on assignment overseas.
“He was just the best,” Roberts said of Zakrzewski. “I worked with Pierre many times around the world,” he added in another tweet. “He was an absolute treasure. Sending our most heartfelt prayers to Pierre’s wife and family.”
“Such a fine man. Such a good friend. Such a fantastic war photographer and so much more,” said longtime Fox’s foreign correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
As he announced Zakrzewski’s death live on Fox’s air on Tuesday morning, anchor Bill Hemmer called the veteran photojournalist “a legend” at the network who has “been with us for years.”
“We miss him already,” Hemmer said.
CNN reported Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, said Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist was also killed during the incident. Yonat Friling, a senior field producer for Fox said in a tweet on Tuesday that Kuvshynova “worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job.”
The attack on Fox News journalists comes just days after an American photographer and videographer Brent Renaud was killed in Ukraine and another journalist was injured covering Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Several officials in President Biden‘s administration offered support for Fox once news of the attack on Hall and Zakrzewski broke on Monday.
“We have been in close touch with Fox News, we have been in touch with the highest executives at Fox News, we have been in touch with the bureau here in D.C. to offer any and all support we can,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday morning when asked about the incident.
“I’m going to let my colleagues at Fox News speak to Ben and his condition, but we are going to everything we can to help him.”