Michelle Ross-Stanton—wife of deceased Fox News video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski—has filed a lawsuit against the network. Zakrzewski was killed while on assignment in Ukraine in March 2022 in the same attack that claimed the life of Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova and left FNC senior correspondent Benjamin Hall with near-fatal injuries.
According to The Washington Post, Ross-Stanton’s lawsuit seeks approximately $11.6 million in compensation from Fox News. The suit, which was filed in the U.K., alleges that the network did not properly protect her husband and his team, who were on assignment in the Kyiv suburb of Horenka when their vehicle was hit with shelling from Russian forces.
Ross-Stanton also claims that Fox News provided the three journalists with an unarmored vehicle while in Kyiv despite knowing they would be reporting from dangerous positions. According to her suit, they were not equipped with geo-tracking tools that would have made it easier to locate and rescue her husband, potentially saving his life.
“We remain devastated by the death of Pierre Zakrzewski,” Fox News said in a statement provided to TVNewser. “His extraordinary dedication to telling the stories of the war in Ukraine placed a critical spotlight on the atrocities there, and we are forever grateful for his commitment to journalism and his ultimate sacrifice.”
“We did everything humanly possible in the aftermath of this unprecedented tragedy amid the chaos of a war zone,” the statement continued. “We disagree with Michelle’s allegations and plan to file our response in May.”
Fox News is also facing a separate lawsuit from the Kuvshynova family that accuses the network of wrongful death, fraud, and defamation. Filed in March 2024, the suit also challenges the official narrative of the moment Kuvshynova was killed.
In a statement provided to TVNewser last year, Fox News said: “While we understand the grief and continue to mourn the loss of both Pierre Zakrzewski and Sasha Kuvshynova, we will respectfully defend against the inaccurate claims within this lawsuit.”
“The safety of our journalists has always been our number one priority, and we are immensely grateful to the Fox News reporters who have covered the war in Ukraine and we remain committed to reporting from the region,” the statement added.