Fox News photographer killed in Ukraine

Fox News photographer Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in Ukraine when the vehicle he was traveling in with reporter Benjamin Hall was struck by incoming fire, Fox News said on Tuesday.

Hall has been hospitalized since the incident on Monday, which happened when they were newsgathering in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, the network said.

As a war photographer, Zakrzewski had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria for Fox, according to a memo sent to Fox employees by Suzanne Scott, CEO of Fox News Media.

“His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched,” Scott said.

He was the second journalist killed in Ukraine in two days. Brent Renaud, a documentary filmmaker and another veteran of covering war zones, died Sunday after Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle.

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HERE ARE TODAY'S KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

— Russia has stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv, as a series of strikes hit a residential neighborhood in the capital city

— The leaders of three European Union countries have planned a bold visit to Kyiv

— Mariupol officials say 2,000 civilian cars have managed to leave the besieged Ukrainian port city via a humanitarian corridor leading west

Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for updates throughout the day.

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the 30-nation military alliance is set to radically change its security posture in Europe in the future in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and its military integration with Belarus, create a new security reality on the European continent,” Stoltenberg said Tuesday, on the eve of a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

“We need to reset our military posture for this new reality,” he told reporters. Stoltenberg said the ministers, led by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, would discuss possible changes on Wednesday.

“On land, this could include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, and with more prepositioned equipment,” Stoltenberg said.

In recent years, NATO has deployed a relatively small force of around 5,000 troops to the Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and Poland on a rotating basis to deter Russia from invading.

Stoltenberg says he expects the ministers will task NATO military commanders to come up with options for boosting security in eastern Europe for the alliance’s leaders to choose among at their June summit.

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NEW YORK — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says the country aims to spend around 1 trillion rubles ($9 billion) on measures to support an economy hit by international sanctions.

Mishustin said the government would work with other ex-Soviet countries to reshape their trade relationships with a focus on helping Russia to get the imports it needs.

Mishustin said the measures aim to “ensure the maximum flexibility for the economy, remove internal restrictions on business and give more freedom to entrepreneurs.”

Russia’s economy has been disrupted after foreign companies in a wide range of industries suspended their operations in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

The government’s responses so far have included programs to support lending to businesses, suspending some regulatory processes and restricting exports of grain and sugar.

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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is praying for the people of Kyiv as Russia steps up its bombardment of the Ukrainian capital.

The Vatican said Tuesday that Francis had received a letter from the Kyiv mayor, inviting him to visit the city as a messenger of peace. The Vatican didn’t say if Francis had responded or was considering a visit.

Such a trip would be highly unlikely given security concerns, Francis’ efforts to maintain relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican’s tradition of quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

In a statement responding to the Kyiv city invitation, Holy See spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Francis was spiritually close “to the suffering of the city, its people, to those who were forced to flee and those who are called to run it. He prays to the Lord that they are protected from violence.”

The March 8 letter invited Francis to visit Kyiv or to participate in a virtual conference of religious leaders. “We appeal to you, as a spiritual leader, to show your compassion, to stand with the Ukrainian people by jointly spreading the call for peace,” the letter read.

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BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is concerned that Russia might be trying to create a pretext to use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Russia’s “absurd claims” about biological labs and chemical weapons in Ukraine are “an absolute lie.”

“This is just another lie. And we are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation, possibly including chemical weapons,” he told reporters in Brussels.

Stoltenberg says that any use of chemical weapons by Russia would be a violation of international law but he refused to say whether it would be a red line that might draw a military response from NATO.

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MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry says that U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top Biden administration officials have been put on the Russian sanctions list.

The ministry said in Tuesday’s statement that the measure is a response to the U.S. sanctions against the Russian leadership.

At the same time, it noted that Russia may not renounce official contacts with the U.S. officials targeted by the sanctions if such contacts are in the country’s national interests.

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ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s foreign minister says an operation to evacuate the country’s consul general from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol is underway.

The consul general, Manolis Androulakis, was being evacuated along with staff from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and their families, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said. Androulakis had been sheltering in the OSCE building in the city.

Greece had been trying for days to evacuate its consul general from the city, where the siege has left residents desperately short of food, water, medicine and heat. Earlier this month, Greek diplomats arranged an evacuation convoy from the city of more than 20 vehicles and more than 80 people, mostly members of the local Greek community in Mariupol. That convoy reached Moldova after three days.