Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall made an emotional return to war-torn Ukraine this week, where 20 months ago he nearly lost his life in a Russian missile attack.
“The last time I got on this train I was barely alive and was seriously injured. But we made it out the other side, and today is the day we come back,” Hall, 41, said during a segment that aired Tuesday on Fox News’ “Special Report.”
“It’s been a long journey,” he added.
Hall was covering the early stages of the Russian invasion in March 2022 when his vehicle was attacked in the abandoned village of Horenka, outside the capital, kyiv.
Two Ukrainian soldiers and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and local repairman Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, 24, were killed in the Russian attack.
Hall, the only survivor of the explosion, was stranded on the side of the road and was only rescued after Ukrainian troops took a wrong turn and discovered him 40 minutes after the attack.
The British journalist underwent around 30 surgeries after the attack and lost his right leg below the knee, his left foot, the use of his left hand and sight in his left eye.
“It was a chance to remember Pierre and Sasha,” Hall told “Special Report” host Bret Baier of his trip, during which he laid flowers in memory of those who died in the war.
Hall was seriously injured outside kyiv while reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Instagram/Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“I think it was a reminder to everyone that, together, we can do almost anything,” he added, noting that he was able to visit the doctors and nurses who kept him alive in Ukraine.
Hall admitted he felt a little “intimidated” upon returning to the war zone, but felt a sense of strength when he arrived in kyiv.
“One of the things that surprised me the most is that I felt a little intimidated when I was going in that direction, but I actually got off the train in Kiev and I felt much stronger than before, because I think it reminded me that you can absolutely go through anything, you can get knocked down and bad things can happen, but together, and we can remember this at Thanksgiving, together, you can get back up, you can get back to doing whatever you want. ,” he said.
“There should be no limits to what you can do. And I think, hopefully, that’s the message we’re trying to get across,” Hall added.
Hall, who was accompanied on his trip by News Corp Chairman and Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, also interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who acknowledged that his country’s counteroffensive against Russia has not gone as planned.
“This is not a good message. This is true,” Zelensky said of the inability of Ukrainian forces to significantly push back Russian troops.
Hall was the only person in the vehicle to survive the Russian missile attack. Hall interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his recent return to the war-torn country.X / Nana Sajaia
“But I just want to say that we stay strong. It’s difficult for us. Yes, we need more successful results on the battlefield. But we need it first for ourselves,” added the 45-year-old leader.
Zelensky, however, praised the “success in Crimea” and “success in the Black Sea” of the Ukrainian army.
“We really destroyed it,” Zelensky said of the once-vaunted Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian president also offered his condolences “to all the parents, relatives of those very brave men and women who lost their lives because they really wanted to help Ukraine be alive.”
“We cannot give them back, I mean, their life as sons and daughters, but we will never forget it,” Zelensky added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn