An ex-US Navy trauma surgeon has revealed how he helped evacuate a wounded American reporter from Ukraine after a Russian artillery attack.
Richard Jadick, who served in Iraq and was awarded the bronze star medal, said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that he had been working in Poland for Save Our Allies, a charity which works to evacuate Americans from conflict zones.
He was then scrambled to Kyiv to rescue Fox's British-born correspondent Benjamin Hall, 39, who was severely injured last week in an incident that also killed longtime photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, and Ukranian reporter Oleksandra 'Sasha' Kuvshynova, 24.
Dr Jadick said: "When I first saw Ben, I had gone upstairs with the Ukrainian orthopaedic surgeon. I can't I really can't say enough about this guy, who had one ex-fix, one little bit of K-wire – things that you do to fix bones.
"He looked at me and he said, 'that's all I got, and I hope it's okay'... that orthopaedic surgeon stands a post at night with an AK [assault rifle], and during the day he operates."
Dr Jadick said that when he got to Mr Hall, he said: "Ben, you don't know me. I'm Rich Jadick, I'm a physician, and I'm here to get you out."
Mr Hall responded: "When do you want to go?" Dr Jadick said they needed to move in about 20 minutes.
Dr Jadick declined to say exactly how Mr Hall was evacuated due to security concerns. However, he said: "Ben had some critical injuries that required a lot of attention. One of the hallmarks of evacuating a patient is, patients get worse under rough conditions.”
"The bad situation was or could have been made worse just by getting in the wrong kind of evacuation situation. And so we worked hard at putting together the right scenario to get him out safely."
Ukrainian officials blamed Russian artillery for the incident, saying: "The truth is the target."
Other journalists have also been killed or injured in the war, including American documentarian Brent Renaud and Russian journalist Oksana Baulina.
After Mr Hall's escape, Fox News said he was "alert and in good spirits" and was getting "the best possible care in the world".
