An extended version of "Sacrifice and Survival: A Story From the Front Line" hit Fox Nation on Monday, telling the remarkable story of Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall’s astonishing recovery from near-fatal injuries suffered in a deadly Ukraine attack.
Weeks after Russia’s 2022 invasion began, a Fox News team covering the conflict was struck by incoming fire on the outskirts of Kyiv. Beloved Fox News photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova were killed in the attack.
Hall was severely wounded but survived and was extracted from the combat zone by Save Our Allies, a nonprofit organization. He has since been through roughly 30 surgeries, lost a leg on one side and a foot on the other, and also no longer has function of a hand and one eye.
The two-hour documentary features the never-before-seen video of the moments leading up to the attack shot by Zakrewski himself, as well as family videos and body cam footage of the rescue.
"We thought we were going five minutes around the corner to film these abandoned villages. There was a bombed-out gas station… we went a little bit further, interviewed some Ukrainian soldiers who were there, we were filming outside one building that had been hit badly, we heard shelling in the background," Hall said when describing the moments before the deadly attack.
"That sounds, I’d say, about 20 miles away. It wasn’t in the vicinity, so it wasn’t a huge worry at the time," Hall continued. "We quickly finished up what we were doing and we got out, the decision then was just to go back. We came up to a checkpoint, there was nobody at the checkpoint, just three concrete barriers… just as we approached the first barrier, the first shell landed."
Hall then described the moments that would forever change his life.
"About 30 yards in front of us, big explosion, Pierre immediately shouts very quickly, ‘reverse, reverse get backwards,’ the Ukrainians who were driving couldn’t get into reverse, and then out of nowhere the second [shell] landed," Hall said. "I went black at the point. I say black, it was like a death. I mean, I wasn’t just concussed, I was out. And out of nowhere, I just hear my daughter’s voice."
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Hall said a vision of his daughter urged him to get out of the car, and once he left, another shell hit the car itself. Images of the aftermath seen in the documentary illustrate the significance of the damage done.
"I was out for a little bit and I wake up, first thing, I knew I was in trouble, and I was on fire and I had to stop that. I’m rolling around, I’m hitting my legs, trying to get it out and I’m looking at myself and I’m bleeding from the head. My leg is off, it’s dangling off, below the knee, the first thing I hear is Pierre say, ‘Don’t move, don’t move – Russian drones,'" Hall recounted. "I sat there for a while, tried my phone, there is no cell phone reception, so I’m just sitting there, complete bloody wreck, didn’t think I was going to die, didn’t think I would get stuck, I didn’t even feel that the injuries were too bad. I knew they were terrible, and the leg was gone, but I knew I was going home."
Viewers will also learn the key roles Zakrewski and Kuvshynova played, along with new details of Hall’s remarkable rescue with former special operations and intelligence veterans leading the ground effort.
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A variety of key players, including Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, offer heartfelt first-hand accounts of everything from the dramatic rescue to Hall being reunited with his loving family.
Zakrzewski’s widow Michelle Ross-Stanton and best friend Rick Findler are also featured, along with Fox News correspondents Trey Yingst and Greg Palkot. Save Our Allies co-founder Sarah Verardo and a number of doctors and surgeons who helped him also participated in the film.
Hall credits his wife, Alicia Meller, and three young daughters for giving him the motivation needed to move forward. "Sacrifice and Survival" viewers will have a chance to hear from Meller herself.
"Him coming home, in a way, feels like nothing has changed even though everything has changed," she said in a scene from the film.
"Credit to him, credit to the kids, they took it in their stride. They’re not bothered by anything, they’re so proud of daddy’s robot leg," Meller continued. "It’s just a different way of life."
Hall detailed the experience of being reunited with his wife after they made a joint decision for her to stay home in London with their young daughters during his rehabilitation process in Texas.
"I was so nervous about it, I didn’t know what to say to her. I just remember we just hugged," Hall said. "We just cried."
"Sacrifice and Survival: A Story From the Front Line" is a companion piece to Hall’s memoir, "Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home," which hit stores on March 14. The documentary premiered Sunday night on Fox News Channel and the lengthier version is now streaming.
