British Fox News reporter is seriously injured near Kyiv: Father-of-three, 39, is wounded in blast while covering Ukraine invasion just one day after American journalist was shot dead
- Benjamin Hall, 39, was hit in legs by shrapnel while covering conflict near Kyiv
- Married father-of-three from London has worked for US network since 2015
- White House press secretary says US President’s thoughts are with his family
- Mr Hall is a Washington-based correspondent who has worked in Iraq and Syria
A British journalist working for Fox News has been seriously injured near Kyiv after being hit in the legs by shrapnel while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Benjamin Hall, 39, a married father-of-three from London who has worked for the US television network since 2015, was today being treated in intensive care in hospital.
Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott told staff in a memo that bosses have a ‘minimal level of details’ and teams on the ground were working to find out more.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told another Fox News reporter at a press conference in Washington DC yesterday that ‘our thoughts, the president’s thoughts, our administration’s thoughts are with him, his family and all of you at Fox News.’
Mr Hall is a Washington-based correspondent and an experienced foreign reporter who has previously worked in the likes of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Gaza.
Irina Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said in a Facebook post that a British journalist had received shrapnel wounds to both legs and was in intensive care.
Benjamin Hall, 39, has been reporting for Fox News from Ukraine on the Russian invasion
Benjamin Hall is a married father-of-three from London who has worked for Fox since 2015
Mr Hall covers the US State Department for Fox News and is normally based in Washington DC
She did not identify the journalist but posted a picture of a US congressional press pass belonging to a Fox News reporter. Ms Venediktova added that the reporter was in intensive care and was not near a military facility at the time of the blast.
Mr Hall covers the US State Department for Fox News and attended Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire before studying at Duke University in North Carolina, Richmond American University in London and University of the Arts London.
Email sent to Fox News staff about Benjamin Hall’s injuries in Kyiv
From: Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott
‘Our correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured while newsgathering outside of Kyiv in Ukraine.
‘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.
‘The safety of our entire our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and of the utmost importance.
‘This is a stark reminder for all journalists who are putting their lives on the line every day to deliver the news from a war zone.
‘We will update everyone as we know more. Please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.’
He is a dual citizen of Britain and the US, and wrote a book in 2015 about the history of Islamic State called ‘Inside ISIS: The Brutal Rise of a Terrorist Army’.
The journalist has also worked for the BBC, ITN and Channel 4 and written for The Times, The Sunday Times, The New York Times and Agence France Presse.
Mr Hall has three young daughters at home in the US. Other staff from Fox News remain in Ukraine to report on the war which began on February 24.
Ms Scott told Fox News staff in an email yesterday: ‘Our correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured while newsgathering outside of Kyiv in Ukraine.
‘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.
‘The safety of our entire our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and of the utmost importance.
‘This is a stark reminder for all journalists who are putting their lives on the line every day to deliver the news from a war zone. We will update everyone as we know more. Please keep Ben and his family in your prayers.’
The State Department Correspondents’ Association said in a statement that it was ‘horrified to learn that our fellow correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured as he covered the Ukraine war.’
‘We know Ben for his warmth, good humour and utmost professionalism,’ it said. ‘We wish Ben a quick recovery and call for utmost efforts to protect journalists who are providing an invaluable service through their coverage in Ukraine.’
Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby also confirmed yesterday in a briefing that Mr Hall had been injured in Ukraine and was being treated at a hospital.
Benjamin Hall in intensive care and was not near a military facility at the time of the blast
Other staff from Fox News remain in Ukraine to report on the war which began on February 24.
Irina Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, did not identify the journalist but posted a picture of a US congressional press pass belonging to a Fox News reporter
Rescuers work next to a residential building damaged by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, this morning
It comes after former New York Times journalist Brent Renaud was shot dead by Russian troops on Sunday. Mr Renaud became the first foreign journalist to be killed in the war after he was hit in the neck in Irpin, near Kyiv.
The award-winning filmmaker had been covering the plight of refugees escaping the suburb, which has come under intense shelling in recent days.
US photographer Juan Arredondo was also shot in the lower back during the attack on the car carrying him and Mr Renaud. A Ukrainian who had been in the same car as the Americans was also wounded, according to a medic at the scene.
That incident came just over a week after Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was shot and wounded after coming under fire while driving back to Kyiv.
A few days earlier a Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Skaum, a camera operator, was killed when a TV transmission tower in Kviv was hit by shelling.
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