Fox News Reporter Shares Health Update After Suffering Severe Injuries In Ukraine
The Russian government maintains a tight hold on media within the country's borders, per Foreign Policy, and is using that power to ensure that its citizens are spoon-fed propaganda and lies about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But brave journalists and photographers from other countries continue to put their lives on the line to provide the rest of the world with vital information about the atrocities being committed at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One British-American reporter, Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, is lucky to be alive after reporting from the ground in Ukraine.
Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott revealed that Hall was gravely injured near Kyiv in mid-March. At the time, the city was under siege, and it was becoming clear that the Russian military was not going to spare civilians or members of the press. According to Scott, Hall was in a vehicle with cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian reporter Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova when Russian troops opened fire on them. Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova were both killed.
On March 25, Scott shared an update on Hall, who has worked for Fox News since 2015. She revealed that he had been transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center, a military hospital at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas. "Ben is receiving excellent care while he continues to recover from his serious injuries after multiple surgeries," Scott said, per Fox News. Now, Hall's speaking out about his injuries himself for the first time.
Why some people are angry at one of Benjamin Hall's colleagues
Save Our Allies, a nonprofit group that helps rescue people from combat zones, played a crucial role in getting Benjamin Hall back home, per Fox News, and on April 8, he was feeling well enough to give his Twitter followers an update on how he was doing.
"To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other," read one of his since-deleted tweets, per Fox News. "One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown... but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here." Hall also shared a photo of himself wearing an eye patch and lying on a stretcher.
Hall's brush with death had some Twitter users expressing outrage over one of his colleague's on-air comments about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Per Newsweek, Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been criticized for spreading Russian disinformation, and his segments have even been used as propaganda on Russia's state TV. "It's painful to watch when journalists like Benjamin Hall risk their lives to tell the truth and at the same time, Tucker Carlson keeps spreading Putin's propaganda," read one tweet. "Would love to hear Fox journalist Benjamin Hall's view of Tucker Carlson's comments on Putin and Ukraine," another person wrote. While Hall hasn't weighed in yet, another Fox contributor has pushed back against the network's coverage of the invasion.