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

Kamikaze drones attacked Zaporizhzhia in February, damaging buildings and killing people. Among the unreported casualties was a long-eared owl found blinded in one eye with a badly broken wing. A passerby rescued the stunned bird and transported it to Dnipro. The owl, nicknamed Sunny, is recovering at the home of biologist Veronica Konkova. The left wing fracture was severe enough to require amputation, and the vet diagnosed brain trauma. Sunny does not react normally to light and now hops instead of flying or hunting. Konkova has rescued wounded birds since 2015, and the war has caused widespread wildlife harm through nets, explosions, fires, pollution, and drone-related entanglement.

"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. Konkova said: The fracture was so bad his left wing had to be amputated. The vet diagnosed brain trauma. Sunny doesn't react normally to light. The owl will stay at the volunteer's home for several weeks before being transferred to a rehabilitation centre in Kyiv."

"Russia's aerial war has had a devastating impact on Ukraine's wildlife, including its birds. Thousands have been caught in nets put up to protect roads near the frontline from marauding enemy drones. The birds die from dehydration or from heart attacks if they get stuck upside down for a long time, Konkova said. Others have been killed as a result of explosions, fires and pollution."

"Owls are frequently trapped in nets when they hunt at night. They also become entangled in thin fibre-optic cables from Russian drones; in some parts of the battlefield, the wire can carpet fields hundreds of metres wide. Konkova said: Sometimes we can save these birds. Other times they arrive in such bad condition there's nothing we can do."

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