Ukraine war: Surgeon removes ‘live grenade’ from inside soldier’s body

A surgeon in Ukraine has removed a live grenade from inside a soldier’s chest, the country’s military has said.

The explosive was removed during an operation by one of Ukraine’s most experienced military surgeons after the armed forces warned it could “detonate at any time”.

The operation was successful and the injured soldier was sent to rehabilitation and recovery, the armed forces added.

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An X-ray image released by Ukraine’s military was said to show the live grenade located in the soldier’s chest.

Surgeon Andriy Verba operated on the soldier without electrocoagulation, a common technique used to control bleeding during surgery.

He was pictured holding the undetonated weapon, which the armed forces described as a “VOG grenade”, after the surgery was performed.

“Not every injury to the heart is fatal!”, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram.

The Ukrainian armed forces did not specify when the surgery took place or how the grenade entered the soldier’s body.

The Russian military uses a variety of grenades.

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With the war in Ukraine now in its 11th month, doctors and nurses in military hospitals are continuing to tend to injured soldiers and civilians.

Last May, Russia was accused of targeting Ukrainian hospitals, in what experts called a “terror bombing campaign”.

Analysis at the time by Sky News showed that almost four attacks a day were carried out against medics and healthcare facilities in Ukraine on average since the war began.

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Last month, a Ukrainian presidential adviser claimed that the country’s armed forces had lost between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers in the war so far.

Mykhailo Podolyak’s remarks appeared to be the first estimate of the death toll since late August.