A British photographer who was left nearly blind by an exploding stray shell on the Ukrainian frontline is said to be slowly regaining his sight.
Christopher Nunn had been covering the fierce shelling in eastern Ukraine as government and pro-Russian forces pounded each other’s positions and lost the eyesight in both eyes when a shell hit the house he was in, triggering a gas explosion.
The photojournalist has worked for leading media names such as The New Yorker, the Financial Times, Le Monde, and the Telegraph and had been covering the conflict for a number of national UK publications at the time of the incident.
Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said the reporter had undergone treatment in a military hospital in nearby Dnipro city and was recovering relatively well after he was seriously injured.
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He said: “British photo reporter Christopher Nunn is undergoing treatment in Dnipro city. His sight is slowly returning to him. Now Christopher can see 90 percent with his right eye and his left eye, that was hurt the most, has started to react to light.”
Head surgeon Serhiy Ryzhenko had previously described Nunn’s condition as “moderately grave” when he was first rushed to the hospital at 4am on Friday morning.
Ukrainian officials say two civilians were killed when Russian-backed separatists fired on the government-held frontline town of Avdiivka.
The separatists claim two civilians died as the government shelled the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
At least 15 people have been confirmed killed in the intense fighting, but many fear the total could be much higher.
Nearly 10,000 people have died since the conflict flared up in 2014.
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