Three Years in Captivity with an Enemy Bullet in the Heart
Serhii, a paramedic of the volunteer battalion Hospitallers, lived for three years with an enemy bullet lodged in his heart.
Since 2014, he had been saving the lives of soldiers and civilians. At the start of the full‑scale invasion, he was in Mariupol with a group of medics from the 36th Marine Brigade. During the breakout from the Illich Steel Plant, their vehicle came under fire. A bullet pierced his lung and became embedded in his heart. Despite the injury, Serhii continued to provide medical aid to the wounded at Azovstal.
In May 2022, he was captured along with other defenders.
Over time, the bullet rusted and grew into the heart tissue. Serhii endured Olenivka, Horlivka, Torez, and Biysk in Russia’s Altai region. He suffered constant torture, electric shocks, and abuse — but the worst was hearing the cries of his comrades under torment. On August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day, Serhii finally returned home in a prisoner exchange.
Doctors debated whether to remove the bullet. In addition to the injury, Serhii had a congenital heart defect and had already undergone three surgeries as a child. The Heart Institute team made a risky but correct decision. During surgery, the bullet could only be located with a magnet — it was deeply embedded in the muscle of the left ventricle. Fortunately, the coronary vessels were not damaged.
Just hours after the operation, Serhii was able to stand on his own. Now he is troubled by only one question: “When will I finally be able to return to the ranks?”
We hold the medical frontline — saving the most precious thing every day: life.