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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Mike Bedigan

UK journalist who lost both feet and an eye in Ukraine returns to TV

AP

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall said he feels “more confident than I ever have” in his first live television appearance since being seriously injured in Ukraine.

The British journalist urged others in similar situations to “never give up” and said adversity could be overcome “no matter how painful something is”.

Hall was caught up in a shelling attack while reporting for Fox News on the ongoing Ukrainian war in March 2022.

His team was on the outskirts of Kyiv when his vehicle was hit by Russian shelling on March 14.

Hall was “burned all over” in the attack and lost half a leg and his feet as well as sustaining damage to one eye.

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Hall said “I think that when you’ve gone through something like I’ve gone through, the highs, the lows, you have to have a target, you have to get something to fight for.

“And this is it, trying to get back, trying to speak to you, trying to be on air and trying to tell people the stories, so perhaps it can help them.

“I’ve got one leg, I’ve got no feet, I see through one eye, one workable hand. I was burned all over, and I feel strong, I feel more confident than I ever have.”

Hall said that in the aftermath of the attack he had seen a vision of his three daughters, which gave him the strength to keep going.

I’ve got one leg, I’ve got no feet, I see through one eye, one workable hand. I was burned all over, and I feel strong, I feel more confident than I ever have
— UK journalist Benjamin Hall

Asked if he had advice for others in similar situations, he said: “I think it’s really important when you’re feeling low and there are many times that I was really at the bottom.

“When you have to know there’s good on the other side, that if you work hard, if you dedicate yourself to getting somewhere and you don’t stop trying to achieve that, you will get that and no matter how painful something is, no matter how hard it is.

“If you really want to and you have the support to do it, you can get there, never give up. Never assume it’s all over. It’s inside you and it’s always good on the other side.”

Hall’s memoir, in which he talks about the attack and his subsequent recovery, is titled Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission To Make It Home and will be released on March 14.

His Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski were both killed in the incident. Hall paid tribute to them shortly after.

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