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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Luke Harding in Dnipro. Photos and video by Alessio Mamo

Blinded and broken, Sunny the owl becomes another casualty of Russia’s war

Volunteer Veronica Konkova sits beside a long-eared owl perched on a branch indoors
Veronica Konkova with Sunny at her home in Dnipro. The long-eared owl lost an eye and a wing in a Russian drone attack. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

Russia sent kamikaze drones to attack the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia in February. They hit buildings and killed several people. One unreported victim of the bombardment was a male long-eared owl, blinded in one eye and found with a badly broken wing. A passerby scooped up the stunned bird, put him in a box and took him to the city of Dnipro.

The owl – nicknamed Sunny – is now recovering in a cosy room belonging to Veronica Konkova. No longer able to fly or hunt, Sunny instead hops around.

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