Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova was killed on March 14, 2022, in the village of Horenka, outside of Kyiv, while working with the U.S. broadcaster Fox News, according to a statement by Fox News, media reports, and a Ukrainian army official who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
In its statement, Fox News said that a vehicle carrying Kuvshynova and other journalists with the outlet was “struck by incoming fire.”
The same attack killed camera operator Pierre Zakrzewski and injured correspondent Benjamin Hall, according to those sources. A person involved in the recovery of the journalists’ bodies told CPJ that Kuvshynova and Zakrzewski were killed on the spot. Hall remained hospitalized as of March 16.
Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko posted on Telegram that the team was attacked by mortars fired by Russian forces, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on March 16 that they were killed by a Russian artillery strike.
However, the news reports and the Fox News statement did not specify the suspected source of the attack.
Svyatoslav Yurash, a Ukrainian former Fox News producer familiar with the case, told CPJ in a phone interview that Kuvshynova had worked with Fox News intermittently since 2019, and was working for the channel on a more regular basis since January 2022.
Kuvshynova “was just 24 years old and was serving as a consultant for us in Ukraine,” Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in the channel’s statement. “She was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources.”
CPJ emailed the Russian and Ukrainian Ministries of Defense for comment. CPJ did not receive any response from the Ukrainian ministry, and the Russian ministry’s account sent back an error message.