Fox News Provides More Details On How Correspondent Benjamin Hall Was Evacuated From Ukraine



Fox News provided more details of how correspondent Benjamin Hall, severely injured in Ukraine, was evacuated from the region, over the border to Poland and ultimately to a hospital in Germany.

Last week, cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova, who was working as a freelance consultant for the network, were killed when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire near Kyiv. Hall was with them as they reported on the Russian invasion, and he is recovering at Landstuhl Medical Center.

In a segment on Monday, anchor Dana Perino credited Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Polish and Ukrainian Armed Forces for their assistance, as well as the group Save Our Allies. It was formed last year in response to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan amid the U.S. withdrawal, as a way of quickly mobilizing to rescue Americans and other allies behind the border.

In the case of Hall, Fox News turned to the group for help in getting Hall out of the country, said Sarah Verardo, one of the group's co-founders.

She told Perino that "we could not move quickly enough to make sure that Ben, not only his extraction, but he was stabilized through field medicine by our team that is also led by trauma surgeons, experienced in military battlefield trauma, as well as our team of special operations veterans and intelligence community veterans."

She said that their team was led by a special operations and intelligence veteran, whom she referred to as Seaspay.

"And so they moved heaven and earth to move Ben not only quickly out of an active, hostile combat zone, but safely due to the grave condition he was in and his injuries," she said. No further details were provided, but a Fox News spokesperson said that the group was instrumental in getting Hall from Ukraine to the Polish border. Fox News reported on Wednesday that Hall was out of the country and "alert and in good spirits."

In the interview, Verardo also credited a longtime relationship with the network, as she also serves as the CEO of the Independence Fund, which assists severely wounded veterans.

Save Our Allies was founded along with other special operations veterans Chad Robichaux, Nick Palmisciano and Tim Kennedy, the mixed martial arts fighter and TV host. Verardo said that they are also focused on assistance in Ukraine, including efforts to get people out and to provide mobile medical services.

Fox News host Trace Gallagher said that such assistance is "vital" given that no American troops are involved in the war and reporters are not embedded with the military.

Jennifer Griffin, national security correspondent for the network, wrote on Twitter, "We'd also like to thank Benjamin Hall's team of extraordinary US military doctors and surgeons at Landstuhl Hospital in Germany. No better team in the world. So grateful for the care and assistance the US military has provided Benjamin at the request of Defense Secretary Austin."

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