By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 1 hour ago, updated 59 minutes ago
Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, July 20, 2023. GENYA SAVILOV / AFP
AFP journalist Dylan Collins was hit by a drone strike while reporting near Bakhmout on Monday 24 July.
An AFP video journalist was injured by a drone strike on Monday (July 24) while covering a Ukrainian artillery position near Bakhmout in eastern Ukraine, AFP reporters who witnessed the blast said.
Dylan Collins, a 35-year-old American living in Lebanon and serving in Ukraine, suffered multiple shrapnel wounds in the attack in a wooded area near Bakhmout.
He was evacuated to a nearby hospital. According to the doctors, his life is not in danger. Dylan Collins is conscious and speaking to his colleagues.
The circumstances of the incident
“We are investigating all the circumstances of this incident. Our thoughts are with Dylan and his loved ones,” AFP Europe director Christine Buhagiar said in a statement.
The town of Bachmout, the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine, fell to the Russians last May after nearly a year of battle.
Since beginning their counter-offensive in early June, Ukrainian forces have been slowly advancing north and south of Bachmout in an attempt to encircle Russian forces and eventually retake the town. Attacks along Bakhmout’s flanks, however, were met with strong Russian defenses and minefields.
Regular assignments in Ukraine
Dylan Collins has worked for AFP since 2018 and is currently the agency’s video coordinator for Lebanon and Syria. It has been conducting regular missions in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, arriving in the capital Kiev in the first days of the attack.
Dylan Collins has extensive experience working in conflict zones in the Middle East. He also reported on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war for AFP.