Two Fox journalists killed in Ukraine, underscoring dangers
New York(AP:) A veteran videographer and a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist working for Fox News were both killed when their vehicle came under fire outside of Kyiv, the network has said.
Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova were travelling Monday in Horenka with Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall, who remains hospitalised.
Today is a heartbreaking day for Fox News Media and for all journalists risking their lives to deliver the news, the network's CEO, Suzanne Scott, said in a staff memo on Tuesday.
On Sunday, documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud, another veteran of covering war zones, died when Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle in Irpin, also outside of Kyiv.
The death of three journalists in a short span underscores the dangers faced by people chronicling the war in Ukraine, even those with extensive experience reporting from conflict zones.
The dangers for journalists seem to be increasing by the day, as the fighting seems to get more brutal and concentrated in more urban areas, said Summer Lopez, director of the Free Expressions Program at PEN America.
Zakrzewski, an Irish citizen who was based in London, had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria for Fox and won an internal unsung hero award for playing a key role last year in getting Fox's freelancers and their families out of Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. He had been working in Ukraine since February.
Such a fine man, tweeted Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin.
Trey Yingst, another colleague who worked with Zakrzewski in Ukraine, called him as good as they come .
Kuvshynova was a local fixer," as is known in war zones. She helped Fox crews navigate the Kyiv area, gathered information and spoke to sources. She had a passion for music, the arts and photography, Scott said in the staff memo.
Several of our correspondents and producers spent long days with her reporting the news and got to know her personally, describing her as hard-working, funny, kind and brave, Scott wrote. Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories and she fulfilled that through her journalism.
In Washington on Tuesday, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, thanked reporters who are on the ground in Ukraine.
Risking their lives to tell the world the truth is something that Ukraine and the world desperately need, she said at the National Press Club.
Jane Ferguson, a PBS NewsHour correspondent in Ukraine who has also reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Syria, said on Twitter that the war is incredibly tough to cover as a field reporter, unlike any I have seen or experienced before .
With intense artillery fire that can reach for miles and a vague fluidity of army positions, there is really no front line, Ferguson wrote.
Ferguson said she and her crew were recently pulled out of their car at gunpoint by Ukrainian soldiers who mistakenly thought they were being filmed from the car. The journalists were waved on after their credentials were checked, but for a few minutes it was pretty nasty .
There are few journalists officially embedded with troops as they were in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example so many reporters are driving around independently, and without good intelligence, which is particularly dangerous, Ferguson said.
In an interview, ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz said Ukraine reminded her of covering the siege of Sarajevo because there are no US troops there.
That is a huge thing for me, she said. You realize, Oh, wait. There are no Americans here. There's no protection for us here. I think you're very cognizant of that.
Gulnoza Said, coordinator of the Europe and Central Asia Program for the Committee to Protect Journalists, has been hearing from journalists in Ukraine concerned about checkpoints where it isn't clear if they're coming upon Russian or Ukrainian soldiers.
She said journalists are telling her they are worried that Ukrainian authorities may be seeking to limit the areas and hours in which they can work.
I need to find out exactly what they want to do, she said. I hope it is not because they want to control the narrative of the war.
News of Zakrzewski's death hit particularly hard Tuesday in Ireland. Irish premier Micheal Martin said he was deeply disturbed by the news.
My thoughts are with their families, friends and fellow journalists, Martin said. We condemn this indiscriminate and immoral war by Russia on Ukraine.
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Adequate LPG stock in Chhattisgarh, no need to panic, says CM Sai
Raipur (PTI): Amid reports of shortage of commercial LPG cylinder in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday assured people that they need not worry about the availability of cooking gas in the state.
He asserted that adequate stock of LPG as well as petrol and diesel was available in the state.
Sai said in a statement that authorities have been directed to regularly monitor stock at gas agencies and keep a close watch on the supply chain. Necessary instructions were issued to officials in all districts to ensure a smooth supply of LPG.
The chief minister instructed officials to take strict action if any complaint of black marketing or hoarding of LPG cylinders is received.
Sai urged state residents not to pay attention to rumours and to book cooking gas cylinders as per their actual requirement.
The government was fully alert to ensure the availability of essential commodities to citizens, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Hotel and Restaurant Association has issued an advisory to hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food businesses across the state, urging them to maintain calm and avoid panic buying.
In the advisory, Taranjeet Singh Hora, president of the association, asked members to maintain coordination and immediately inform it about any major disruption in LPG supply.
He cautioned businesses against hoarding cylinders, saying such practices could worsen the situation for the entire hospitality sector.
The association advised hotels and restaurants to prioritise essential kitchen operations, core menu items and already committed banquet events.
Use electric cooking equipment wherever possible for emergency and staff kitchens such as induction cooktops, electric hot plates, electric rice cookers and kettles, the advisory stated.
