A Ukrainian boy who was shot at point-blank range during Russia’s invasion of his country has led an amazing life.
The 16-year-old civilian victim, whose name has not been released, was shot in the neck with a Soviet pistol just 15 cm away.
In the botched execution-style shooting, the 9mm round entered his throat, grazed the top of his spine and lodged in his upper jaw.
The teenager was taken to a hospital in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia and miraculously made a full recovery.
A head and neck X-ray showed the bullet lodged in the 16-year-old boy’s skull.
The bullet doctors removed was 9mm x 18mm
His story was revealed in the American Journal of Case Reports by doctors at the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University.
The boy’s face was crooked as the left side of his face and neck swelled and he could not fully open his mouth or lift his left arm due to damage to his spinal cord.
From his 6 mm gunshot wound, doctors estimated he was hit from about 15 cm by a Makarov pistol.
The report did not specifically state that a Russian soldier fired the weapon, but throughout the war there were reports of Russian military personnel carrying out execution-style killings of civilians, including children.
The Ukrainian boy was X-rayed and fitted with a neck brace for support to ensure his head and neck were held in place.
During the operation, doctors made an incision in the lower part of his jaw, dissected soft tissue in that area and removed the cartridge case from his skull.
Then they treated the area with an antiseptic solution, drained the wound and stitched it up.
The boy was discharged from the hospital nine days after the operation.
He was advised to continue with the “sanatorium construction treatment according to an individual rehabilitation plan”.
The boy was treated at the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University Hospital in Vinnytsia, central Ukraine
Looking at the teenager’s injuries, doctors estimate he was shot from about 15 cm by a Makarov pistol
The main principles of the sanatorium are fresh air, exercise and proper nutrition.
He also had postoperative physical therapy.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian civilians died during the Russian invasion, according to Ukraine’s top war crimes prosecutor.
This is ten times the current official death toll of 8,000.
More than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians died in the siege of the port city of Mariupol alone.
Russian casualties are now estimated at 200,000.
Last week, an angry Vladimir Putin condemned the International Criminal Court’s “outrageous” decision to issue him with an arrest warrant for war crimes in Ukraine.
The ICC called for Putin’s arrest, accusing the despot of committing war crimes by kidnapping Ukrainian children from their homes and deporting them to Russia to be handed over to Russian families.
She also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s “Children’s Rights Commissioner,” on the same charges.
The Kremlin called the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin “outrageous and unacceptable”; Ukraine, on the other hand, welcomed the decision and said “the wheel of justice is turning”.
Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the ICC, said hundreds of Ukrainian children were brought to Russia from orphanages and children’s homes.
He said: “We claim that many of these children have now been placed for adoption in the Russian Federation.”
United Nations data shows that more than 7,199 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 11,756 injured since the Russian invasion.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
