Incredible moment surgeons pluck bullet from Ukrainian soldier’s BEATING HEART in astonishing life-saving op

INCREDIBLE surgeons plucked a bullet out of a Ukrainian soldier’s beating heart during an astonishing life-saving operation.

Extraordinary medics managed to remove the shrapnel from the wounded trooper’s ticker as it continued to pump blood around his body.

The heroic team of Ukrainian and Belarusian doctors battled to save the squaddie’s life at Feofaniya Hospital in Kyiv.

After he was rushed into theatre from the front line, they performed open-heart surgery on the Ukrainian serviceman to prize out the bullet.

Unbelievable footage of the extraction shows his heart still throbbing in his chest as surgeons gently tease the pellet out with tools.

The doctors are then seen placing the small fragment into a dish after the nail-biting procedure.

Belarusian doctor Maksim Paulouski was among the medics who performed the complicated surgery.

The lionhearted soldier was later pictured standing alongside the valiant surgeons who saved his life.

Miraculously, it seems he was up pottering about shortly after his near-death experience.

The Ukrainian, sporting dressings and a chest support, smiled in the face of Russian troops who are thought to have fired the shot.

According to reports, he is still “eager to fight” for his beloved country which remains under siege by Russia.

But amid the harrowing stories constantly emerging from the frontline, tales of dedicated doctors working in the warzone have continued to remain a beacon of hope.

David Beckham earlier lent his Instagram account to a Ukrainian medic in a bid to show the reality of their struggling medical facilities.

The Man United legend issued a heartfelt plea to his followers to support the “incredible people” working in “appalling conditions”.

He praised the head of the regional perinatal centre and child anesthesiologist Iryna before handing over his social media account to her.

The doc detailed her plight caring for newborn babies and their mothers in Kharkiv as the war in Ukraine rages on.

Iryna told how on the first day of the devastating conflict, pregnant women and mothers had to be “evacuated to the basement”.

She explained: “It was a terrible three hours that we spent together.

“Unfortunately, we can’t take babies who are in intensive care to the basement because they rely on life-saving equipment.

“The first days were the most difficult. We had to learn how to work with bombings and strikes.”

And the boss of the children’s hospital in Mariupol revealed to The Sun how she saw 15 women and three kids die before her eyes.

Liudmyla Mykhilenko, 50, wept as she told how evil Putin’s missiles had targeted the hospital ten times.

She discussed her experience treating youngsters devastating injuries “under a campfire” as Russian shelling severed their electricity supplies.

In her harrowing account, she also described how her morning commute had become a “mortally dangerous quest” as she dodged soldiers and bullets.

The chief medic explained: “We went on foot, sprinting in and out of nearby buildings.

“A trip that would take us ten minutes before the war was now 90 minutes.

“Of course I was frightened but someone had to keep the hospital running.”