Polish journalist injured in eastern Ukraine

A man mourns at a roadside in eastern Ukraine, 27 July 2014.Photo: EPA/Igor Kovalenko

Bianka Zalewska, who currently works for privately-owned Ukrainian station Espreso TV, was travelling with a battalion of Ukrainian troops in the Luhansk region when gunfire erupted.

Owner of Espreso TV Mykola Knyazhytsky has told Polish Radio that pro-Russian separatists apparently shot the wheels of the car in which Zalewska was travelling, causing the vehicle to flip over.

The journalist has a broken spine, a broken collarbone and damaged kidneys, among other injuries.

However, Knyazhytsky says there is a high chance that Zalewska will be able to walk again, as her spinal nerves were not damaged.

Zalewska was taken first to a hospital in Starobielsk and then flown by helicopter to a second clinic in the city of Kharkiv, north east Ukraine.

Poland's consul in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, visited her there, and it will decided on Monday whether to transport her to Kiev or Poland.

Meanwhile, a draft package of sanctions against Russia looks set to be agreed on in Brussels by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday. (nh)

Source: IAR