The video, shared by YouTuber Zackdfilms, has racked up more than 19 million views, with many viewers shocked by how close the soldier came to losing his life.
According to the simulation, the grenade was fired toward the soldier during an attack and struck him directly in the chest. Instead of detonating on impact, the explosive pierced his skin and remained intact inside his body.
Because the grenade could have exploded at any moment, surgeons were unable to use standard surgical tools that rely on electricity to seal blood vessels.
To avoid triggering the explosive, a medic carefully relied only on hand tools, slowly working to remove the grenade while keeping everyone in the operating room safe.
A BBC report from 2023 described a Ukrainian soldier who survived a nearly identical injury after a live grenade punctured his chest without exploding.
Images shared by the Ukrainian armed forces’ medical service showed an X-ray of the soldier’s chest with the grenade clearly visible inside.
The report noted that two military engineers, known as sappers, were present in the operating room to ensure the safety of the medical team.
As with the simulation, doctors were unable to use electrocoagulation, a common method to control bleeding, because the ammunition could have detonated at any moment.
The procedure was reportedly carried out by General Andrii Verba, described as one of the most experienced surgeons in Ukraine’s armed forces.
While it remains unclear how the grenade became embedded in the soldier’s chest, the type used, known as a VOG grenade, can be launched from distances of up to 400 meters and measures roughly four centimeters in length.
