Fox News reporter 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 boarded this train, I was almost dead, seriously injured. But we made it out the other side, and today is the day we’re coming 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 settler 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 made a wrong turn and found him 40 minutes after the attack.
The British journalist underwent about 30 operations after the attack and lost his right leg below the knee, his left leg, the use of his left hand and the sight in his left eye.
“It’s an opportunity to remember Pierre and Sasha,” Hall told “Special Report” host Bret Baier of his trip, where he laid flowers in memory of those who have died in the war.
Hall was seriously injured outside Kyiv while reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Instagram/Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“I think it’s a reminder to everyone that, together, we can do almost anything,” he added, noting that he was able to visit with the doctors and nurses who kept him alive in Ukraine.
Hall admitted that he was a bit “excited” on the way back to the war zone but felt a sense of strength upon arriving in Kyiv.
“One of the things that surprised me the most was that I was a little scared going into that, but I actually got off that train in Kyiv, and I felt a lot stronger than before, because I think it reminded me that you can go through anything , you can be stressed and bad things can happen, but together – and we can remember this on Thanksgiving – together, you can get back up, you can go and do whatever you want again,” he said.
“There should be no limit 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 admitted that his country’s counter-offensive against Russia had not gone as planned.
“This is not a good message. This is true,” Zelensky said of the Ukrainian army’s inability to significantly push back the Russian army.
Hall was the only person in the vehicle to survive the Russian missile attack. Hall interviews Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his recent return to the war-torn country.X/Nana Sajaia
“But I just want to say that we are — we’re staying strong. It’s hard for us. Yes, we need more successful results on the battlefield. But we need it for us, first of all,” added the 45-year-old leader.
Zelensky, however, touted the “success of the Ukrainian army in Crimea” and “success in the Black Sea.”
“We completely destroyed it,” Zelensky said of Russia’s once-vaunted Black Sea fleet.
The Ukrainian president also expressed his condolences “to all parents, relatives of very brave men, men and women who lost their lives because they really wanted to help Ukraine to survive.”
“We cannot give you back, I mean, – the lives of your sons and daughters, but we will not forget them,” added Zelensky.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
