A Ukrainian soldier is lucky to be alive after a live grenade that was lodged in his torso during a battle in Bakhmut, Ukraine, was surgically removed.
Ukrainian surgeon Major General Andrii Verba had to perform the surgery knowing the grenade could detonate at any second.
“Our military doctors performed an operation to remove an unexploded VOG grenade from the body of a serviceman,” confirmed regional governor Serhii Borzov in a Facebook post Monday night, Jan. 9.
The surgery was performed in the company of two other soldiers due to the threat of an explosion.
An electrocoagulation — a surgery that uses heat to control bleeding and destroy abnormal tissue — could not be conducted because it might trigger the grenade.
However, Dr. Verba was able to successfully perform the surgery and remove the grenade, Borzov said.
“The operational intervention was successful,” Borzov added, “and the injured soldier was sent to further rehabilitation and recovery.”
