In Ukraine, Russia Is Turning On Journalists And The Truth With Personal & Painful Consequences — Special Report
deadline.comEditors note: In Hollie McKay’s latest special report for Deadline, the veteran foreign affairs correspondent and author of Only Cry for the Living: Memos From Inside the ISIS Battlefield reports from the battlefields of Ukraine, where Russia’s invasion is targeting journalists and the truth.It’s the sort of news that leaves you raw: former colleagues had been hit in a Russian attack, fate unknown.
Having just returned from the frontlines on the fringes of Kyiv city, I peeled off my body armor and sat on the floor of my hotel room to process the news.In the fog of war, the initial rumbles from fellow journalists were distorted.
Still, I quickly learned that Fox News’ Benjamin Hall, a lovely and highly experienced war reporter, had been severely wounded in an artillery attack on a vehicle that he and others were traveling in.Hours later, I learned that their local producer-fixer Sasha Kuvshynova and Pierre Zakrzewski – possibly the kindest and most supportive and charismatic video journalists one could encounter – were missing.
In the context of a frantic and feeble war zone, that can only mean a few things: they had perished in the blast, been taken as a prisoner of war, or transported to a morgue not yet identified.As the day turned to night and night turned day, I learned that Ben had been injured and was fighting for his life.
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