Fox News Sued by Families of Journalists Killed

Families of two journalists killed covering the war in Ukraine have sued Fox News, arguing the network put the story ahead of its people and ignored warnings not to enter a strike zone outside Kyiv.

Ukrainian producer Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova, 24, and Fox cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski died in a Russian strike in mid-March 2022 while traveling with correspondent Benjamin Hall near Horenka, on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Two Ukrainian soldiers serving as guides were also killed. Hall survived. His injuries cost him his right leg below the knee, most of his left foot and part of an eye.

Kuvshynova had just joined the team as a producer and interpreter.

Her parents, Andriy Kuvshynov and Iryna Mamaysur, told NPR they were speaking publicly for the first time to honor her and to seek accountability for a death they say was preventable. Their suit also names Hall.

Two multimillion-dollar lawsuits blame the network. One says Fox gave Hall free rein to push the crew into an area he had been repeatedly warned was off limits.

A February 2026 filing alleges a security official specifically told Hall not to travel beyond a checkpoint or visit sites that had not been assessed.

Former Fox security adviser Aaron King told NPR, “If you took Benji out of the equation, this never would have happened.”

Another adviser, Shane Thomson, joined the Kuvshynovs’ suit and alleges Fox scapegoated him after the strike.

Their lawyer, Stephen Humphreys, said, “This was a very avoidable danger that they were specifically warned about, as to the exact time and place that they could not go.”

Fox has described the deaths as tragic and has honored the journalists. The reporting is based on NPR’s review of interviews and hundreds of pages of legal filings.